


Through the ice into the heat

by Ruquas



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt Phil Coulson, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Infertility, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sick Tony Stark, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:28:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 25,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28577523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruquas/pseuds/Ruquas
Summary: Tony knows, the only option is to walk away - into a fate unknown except that it probably brings a future with his death.Little does he know that his future has something else planned.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Thor, Clint Barton/Phil Coulson/Nick Fury, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Logan (X-Men)/Scott Summers, Natasha Romanov/Brock Rumlow, Scott Lang/OMC, Victor Creed/Wade Wilson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 142
Collections: Avengers Collection





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TedraKitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TedraKitty/gifts).



> This fic was inspired by Lexi (stupid wolves!) and is for Kitty, who rooted for it when it was still a itsy bitsy teeny weeny idea.
> 
> And a big thank you to Sagana, who Beta-Read this monster for me <3
> 
> This fic is finished.
> 
> For the TRANS CHARACTER tag, please see notes at the end.

Tony hadn't known that it was possible to hurt as much as it was the case right now.

But then, he would also never thought that he would be allowed to pack his few belongings and actually _to go_. To just... stand up and leave. Sure, he had no pack anymore, hadn't had anyone that cared about him now (not that they did before today. Not really. But at least they made sure he didn't starve, so that's something, right?). At least not openly.

"You could ask for forgiveness, you know?"

The voice was soft and for a short second, Tony thought about listening. Not just hearing, but then decided against it. Asking for forgiveness would include groveling. Probably in public. It would mean that he would get mated off to someone, to an even worse Alpha than Obi had in mind before, because now no one right in their right mind wanted him anymore.

Not that they did before. But before he had been family to one of the pack Alphas. Now? Not so much.

"And then what? Getting beaten and raped by an Alpha who tries to get something they can't have?" Tony asked, voice carefully blank. Scott didn't mean any harm. But his Alpha was out for a higher position in pack and Scott was pregnant.

The other Omega flinched but didn't say anything against it. They both knew it would be a hollow lie if he would tell him that it wouldn't be like that. 

"I'm gonna miss you, you know? It’s… it will be hard without you."

Tony swallowed and blinked back the tears. He would miss him, too. He was one of the few people here he could talk to. One of the few people who didn’t turn up their nose at topics ‘Not suited for Omegas’.

"Not for long. Just a few more weeks and you will barely have the time to sit down." Tony said, giving Scott his best smile. He had wanted to see the pup. Maybe hold it, if Scott’s Alpha would allow it.

But for that, he would need to stay longer. Would need to stay infinitely.

And he couldn't. Not anymore. So he threw his bag over his shoulder and started to walk out of the cabin. His cabin. Well, Jarvis' cabin, but Jarvis was dead now and therefore it was just a cabin waiting for a new Alpha.

Tony ignored the looks people threw him. Some looked at him with pity, some were confused. Some disgusted. Nothing new. But he still wanted to run away. Wanted to hide from them. He couldn't do that. If he runs, they would win. If he would hide, they would win, too. So the only option he had was walking away, ignoring the whispering behind his back.

"Tony. Boy. Are you _really_ sure about this nonsense?" Obadiah asked and Tony wanted to scream and cry and curl into a tight ball.

Instead, he just nodded, walking past Obadiah, not knowing if he should be glad that they really let him go or not. But no matter what he would choose, he couldn’t make himself look at the other man. He just… couldn’t.

"It would be kinder to kill him like in the old days. He's just an Omega, he can't survive on his own out there."

Tony didn't know exactly who said it, didn't want to turn around. He was just relieved when he heard Obi's answer.

"He had his choice. He chose to be packless. If he wants to die, it's his own decision. And not our problem anymore."

Tony swallowed, walking further into the woods, already starting to freeze. Why couldn't Jarvis have passed away in summer? At least then Tony wouldn't freeze as much as he did now.

But there was no use in cursing a situation he couldn't change. Tony had already been lucky that he had been allowed to visit the grave. 

He just hoped that this pack that Jarvis had mentioned would welcome him. Or at least, wouldn't turn him away and leave him out in the cold like his old one.


	2. Chapter 2

He should've packed more things to eat, Tony mourned while taking the last bite of the now stale bread.

He'd been walking for two days now, not even knowing if he was walking in the right direction. And then this fucking storm hit and he had to hide away. He couldn't even start a fire in the cave he found because he didn't know how much of this cave was ice and how much stone. He just knew that it gave him at least a bit of protection from the cold and the snow storm.

Tony was freezing. And cold. Doubt was spreading if he made the right decision. Hell, he didn't even really know this Peggy Jarvis had talked about. He had met the Alpha like, twice in his life, once when he was still a little boy and once when his parents passed away. For all he knew, her pack would just kill him on sight because he didn't belong to them.

And then there was also the fact that he wasn't even sure if he would be able to reach the pack. He just walked into the direction Jarvis gave him. It had to be the right direction, but they never had talked about how much time Tony would need until he would reach the pack. He just hoped it happened before his heat hit. Whenever that was. It should be in the next few weeks, but then, grief and heat were never friends with each other.

After a few more hours, the storm finally calmed down. It was still snowing, it was still cold, but at least Tony could now see further than a few yards. So he started walking again, his bag clutched tightly, ignoring the nausea that hit him. He was just hungry and cold. Nothing that he couldn't survive. Nothing new. 

At least until there was suddenly something slippery under his feet and then the ground just disappeared.

_'Don't close your eyes when you're already cold and exhausted. You can never know if you will wake up' Tony heard Jarvis' voice, a reminder from the past when Jarvis had prepared him for the time when he wouldn't be there anymore._

_Then everything went black._


	3. Chapter 3

There weren’t lots of things Logan absolutely didn’t expect when he went on a hunt.

But finding an Omega, half dead lying in the snow and looking like he had been dead for weeks already? Yep, definitely a surprise. And even though they needed the food, he couldn’t just leave the Omega out in the snow to a certain death.

That was the only reason he was now standing in front of Clint and Sam, practically pushing the poor thing at them. Needless to say, both of them were surprised. Not his problem.

“Let me summarize it - you went on a hunt, which, by the way is probably highly illegal because you weren’t on _our_ land but from another pack probably, or no man’s land, found an Omega who was just lying in the snow and brought him here?” Sam asked. Logan couldn’t blame him for sounding incredulous. But stating the obvious again, for the second time? Needless. 

“Sounds like it. Don’t know if he’ll survive. Probably not. Way too thin, no real smell on him. Certainly no Alpha, probably no tight pack either. Lower chances at survival.”

“Well, why didn’t you just kill him if you’re so sure he’s gonna die?” Clint grumbled, already packing the Omega into blankets.

“And well, you don’t have a tight pack either. You’re still not dying.”

Logan felt his mouth twitch. He liked Clint, even if he wanted to put him through a wall on most days.

“Well, I’m neither without a pack, nor am I a half-starved Omega. And not my job to decide who gets to die. But if you want to decide…”

“Okay, guys, calm down.” Sam interrupted them, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“He won’t get better with you fighting. Clint, get the boss. Logan, could you please get Bruce? Or Thor? Or… don’t know, stay with him and I get one of them? And he needs to be brought to the clinic.”

Logan didn’t answer, just walked straight to the hospital. He absolutely didn’t want to interact with either the Doc or the overeager puppy following him around. But compared to the possibility to stay with the Omega, maybe while he died?

Yeah, not so much. 

The nurses just stared at him.

“You’ve seen the Doc?” Logan grunted, stopping a young nurse who didn’t really look old enough to be allowed to work. He hated the hospital. Was only here when it was necessary. Preferred to stay away after Scott’s miscarriage.

“Uhm… which one, Sir?”

Logan wanted to scream, wanted to run away. Maybe hit something. Instead he took a deep breath.

“Banner. We have a hurt Omega outside.”

The girl just shook her head and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything else Logan was already turning around.

“Hey. It’s his lunch.”, another nurse said. Logan knew him so it was probably someone who Scott saw or had seen on a regular basis.

Logan nodded and walked out of the hospital. If Banner had lunch, then the chance was higher to find him at the animal shelter where Thor worked.

He wasn’t really surprised to find them necking. Just maybe that they hadn’t thought of closing the door.

“Logan!” Banner yelled, something between surprise and scandalized. Thor just threw him a happy grin, almost as if he had planned that someone would walk in.

“Sam’s looking for you. I found an Omega, half dead, half starved, freezing cold. They’re probably already at the clinic.”

Without another word, Logan turned around again, leaving them to dress themselves completely.

He still had to finish a hunt. They couldn’t rely on the food truck bringing everything. There had already been way too much stuff missing the last time.

This time, he won’t take the chance.


	4. Chapter 4

The strange smell was the first thing Tony’s brain caught up upon.

The next one was that he didn’t know where he was. Only the steady beeping sound told him that it was a hospital. And he was warm.

Where was he? It didn’t smelt like in the hospital in his former pack’s town. And there would be no reason for them to bring him back.

Then his brain registered the smell of _someone_ else. He didn’t know this person. He never smelt them before and he couldn’t _place_ the scent. It was strong.

_Where the hell was he?_

“You’re awake. Good. I think we both know that you can’t pretend to be asleep forever.”

Tony swallowed and opened his eyes, barely keeping the sigh in. It wouldn’t be wise to anger the man who was sitting on a plastic chair and didn’t look particularly happy to be here.

Probably an Alpha. The whole attitude fit. And there weren’t many Omegas who were missing an eye. Probably none.

“Uhm… hello.” Tony forced out, his throat feeling like sandpaper.

The man nodded to the table beside Tony.

“There’s water. You need help?”

Hastily, Tony sat up and shook his head. He didn’t want anyone near him. He didn’t want to be further in debt than he already was. He _wanted to know where he was_.

But when he opened his mouth, there was nothing coming out. The other man’s mouth twitched.

“Drink. I talk.”

Tony took it as the order it was and drank the water standing beside him. He could’ve sworn that he never tasted better water in his entire life.

“Good. It’s pretty simple. A member of my pack found you in the woods, just outside of our territory, unconscious and half dead. Our doctors tried their best to make sure you survive - which you obviously did. You only had a backpack with you, which the nurses have put in the bathroom. The important question now is though - what were you doing outside in the woods in that shit weather, alone?”

Tony didn’t knew if he actually went white, but he felt as if all his blood was suddenly drained from his body. He had trespassed into another Alpha’s territory. God, they had to use their resources to help him. He didn’t had money on him… Tony started to sweat, the beeping sound indicating having everyone hear how nervous he started to get.

“I will be gone as soon as possible, Sir.” Tony murmured, not knowing if he should look at the Alpha or not.

“I just wanted to meet another pack, so if your doctor says I’m fine to go, I will leave as soon as I….”

“He says you’re not. Which pack?”, the Alpha interrupted harshly. The air had changed a bit. Tony could almost _taste_ the tension. Should he offer reimbursement? Or at least ask how to pay them back?

“I… My former… The man who raised me told me her name’s Margaret. Margaret Carter. She goes by Peggy, as far as I know. Or at least she did a few years back.”

The tension went out of the Alpha, replaced by something else. It took Tony everything not to sigh in relief. Whatever it was that had replaced the tension, it wasn’t something that would lead to an immediate attack.

“She’s dead. A few years already. Her pack’s scattered, some found a new pack, some moved, some stayed on their own.”

Tony felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. That couldn’t be. She couldn’t… what should he do if she was dead? Maybe she wasn’t, maybe this Alpha lied but… there was no reason. Tony didn’t know this Alpha. The Alpha didn’t know Tony. Why should he lie?

Tony felt the few tears gathering in his eyes.

He had nothing. He had nowhere to go. He left everything behind, in hope to find at least something similar to a home and now… he had nothing.

The Alpha sighed and stood up.

“I’m sorry that you had to learn it like that. It’s probably a lot. I’m gonna leave you alone for now. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call for a nurse. The Alpha that found you couldn’t smell a pack on you, neither an Alpha. Usually, he’s right about such things, therefore I assume you don’t have one. You are free to stay here as long as you need to heal completely. And if you want, and act appropriately, I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t be able to stay with the pack if you want to. But now, try to rest. You’ll need it.”

Tony nodded, couldn’t bring out a word. The only thing that had given him hope was gone. He felt nauseous. And afraid. God, he hadn’t been that afraid since his parents had died and it hadn’t been sure if he would be allowed to stay with Jarvis.

And he still doesn’t know how to repay the pack back. He didn’t have anything of value. He couldn’t do anything special. Hell, he didn’t even know if those people would really let him go after he got better. Or if he could really earn himself a place in this pack. Tony knew that he couldn’t survive on his own. He could be happy if he could survive the winter on his own, but that was very unlikely.

He needed a pack. And this Alpha had just offered him a place if Tony acted appropriately for this pack. But what was considered appropriately here? 

Tony sighed and leaned back into the pillow again, just staring at the ceiling. Maybe it would’ve been better if that Alpha wouldn’t have found him. Or if he had asked his former pack to not only break the bond but also to bite him to death. At least then he wouldn’t be in this fucked up situation.


	5. Chapter 5

It took Tony almost a week to be healthy enough that the doctor, Bruce, let him go outside. And it was an important step, or so he’d been told by the red haired therapist, to go outside, to discover his new environment.

He was just… nervous, Tony told himself. Nervous what waited on the other side of the hospital door. Like, not really, it was a glass door, but the point stands.

“No one’s gonna bite you. And most people already know that you exist. And those who don’t… well, we sometimes have visitors here who need to go to the hospital.” Bruce said next to him, giving Tony an encouraging smile.

“I just… it’s…” Tony started, but then interrupted himself, giving Bruce a smile he hoped didn’t look as fake as it felt.

“Maybe I just rather stay here with you?” Tony tried to joke, but already knew while he was making it that it would fall flat. He and the Beta had started to form a friendship, but even then… in his former pack, it would’ve been a dangerous statement. He still didn’t know how it would be taken in this pack. He didn’t really know anything about this pack except what Bruce had told him (“They’re good people. Some of them seem to be a bit rough, but then, you have them everywhere. And some are just… well, there are worse people.”), or what his therapist had told him (“You seem to come from a world which is almost unknown to most of the people here. In this pack, we are pretty… liberal, if I dare to say. Most of us don’t care what gender you are and those who do don’t care as long as you’re not their mate.”). Fury had told him some (“People here are like they are everywhere. Just lots of individuals forced together by some circumstances that can’t be changed or which they don’t want to change.”) and someone named Coulson, who had he been told was the one who he should really watch out for, worse than Santa Clause, told him a few things, too (“Some of us live in the main pack, as we call it, some on their own and just come into town every few months when absolutely necessary, others formed their own, small pack just outside the town, living together because they feel out of place due to any reasons. That still doesn’t change that we are all a pack and no matter what happens, we stand together.”).

But that was it. Just some random facts and sometimes cryptic exchanges. But there was one thing that was always constant - everyone told him that they were pack, that they would stand together no matter what happened. And Tony believed them. But that also meant that they either wouldn’t have a use for an Omega like him (“As far as I can tell you’ve been in distress for a long time, so you should take it slow if possible.” - and everyone knew that an Omega in distress wouldn’t be good for childbearing, if they could have any at all) or that the expectations would be very high. If they would let him join at all.

Maybe Tony was overacting. He probably was. He had been outside for most of his life, never being used to be a traditional Omega. Never having guardians that cared a lot for that, except after when Jarvis died. It was just _outside_ , but it wasn’t _his_ outside.

“You know that tomorrow is still a day, too, right? Just because you are allowed to go outside now doesn’t mean you have to.” Bruce suddenly said, bringing Tony back. Bruce, who was still standing at Tony’s side, still looking patiently at him.

“And if you prefer to go outside at night, that’s fine, too. Most activities are dying down around eleven, at least on a working day.”

Tony swallowed and shook his head.

“No. I… I think it will just get worse if I don’t go now. It’s just… a strange feeling.”

Bruce nods slowly, as if he understands what Tony means. And maybe he does. Tony had already gathered that Bruce didn’t grow up in this pack, still doesn’t feel like he belongs to it on some days.

“Just have your pager nearby in case anything happens.” Bruce says, and then turns around, walking away. As if he knew that it would only get worse the longer he stood next to Tony.

Taking a last deep breath, Tony started walking out of the door. 

And even though he expected the cold, Tony was still surprised when it hit him. And only now he realized how thin his thickest coat actually was compared to what the people here wore. But then, he was a bit further north than he usually was. But still… it was _icy_. And still… nice. People were walking by, some greeting him with a nod, others giving him a short smile while others just looked curiously at him or plainly ignored him.

The town itself looked different than his hometown, too. Where his home town was futuristic, full of glass and steel this town was full of brick houses. Sure, there were lots of modern buildings, too, but the town didn’t seem to be as cold as his home town. Tony liked it. It was just… warmer. More welcoming. 

At least until he ran into a wall that was as soft as hard, bringing Tony to the ground without any effort.

“Wha… oh fuck… Hey, you okay?”

The wall could speak. Tony was a bit confused until he realized that the wall wasn’t one. Just a very tall man, looking as if someone had kicked his puppy. 

“Uhm… what?”

“If you are okay? I didn’t mean to run into you, after all.”

The man (probably Alpha, smelling nice, looking as if he could bench press a school bus) offered Tony his hand. Tony was surprised to find it calloused. Working with his hands. Definitely an Alpha.

“I’m fine. Thank you, Sir.” Tony said as timid he could manage. And it wasn’t a lie. He didn’t really hurt. But what now? He felt himself starting to shake. No one had prepared him for this. He should’ve taken Bruce’s advice and just waited until it was dark, until…

“Steve. I don’t think I’m old enough to be ‘Sir’”, the Alpha (Steve) laughed.

“Tony.”

God, what should he do? 

“You’re probably the guy Logan found in the woods? Need a tour or would you prefer to look around alone?”

Yes, he would prefer to be alone right now. But Tony wasn’t stupid enough to say so. And on the other hand, a tour could be useful.

Tony took a deep breath and plastered on the smile his father taught him at an early age. Never let anyone see what you think. Always let them think you’re the soft, pliant thing they want. Show them that you can be good.

“Yes, that would be nice. Thank you very much for the offer.” Tony said, voice warmer than he thought. Steve’s smile got wider, so he did something right, yes? 

Tony tried to be as pliant and quiet as possible while Steve showed him around, introduced him to some people, showed him where Tony could find a bit quiet without being alone. But before he knew it, he found himself talking animatedly with Steve about everything, about the things that interested him in this town. About some of the differences in the buildings here and at his old pack.

He also got to knew that Steve also wasn’t born here, that he found this pack after a dispute with his old one. Everything went fine. Sure, Tony wasn’t delusional enough to think that everyone here was like Steve. Hell, he wasn’t even delusional enough to believe that Steve was really such a nice guy. But even though Tony flirted a bit (“Always flirt with Alphas, honey. They like it. They feel empowered by it. And it secures that they like you. If they like you, they won’t make your life a living hell. But never too much, try to remember that”), Steve didn’t flirt back. Maybe he didn’t realize that Tony flirted, because he always took his mother's advice seriously. But he seemed to like Tony, and that was already a lot.

At least until they met someone else. Someone who clearly reeked of Alpha, probably shortly before going into a rut. And Steve's eyes started to shine brightly.

“Buck! Buck! Come here! This is Tony.”

“Hu?”

Tony tried to make himself even smaller the way this Buck looked at him. At least he didn’t get scented openly. Tony still wanted to run away (“Never run when an Alpha goes into a rut, boy. Never. They will catch you, not caring if it’s mating run or not, not caring if you’ll present as Omega or Beta. Never, ever run.”).

“Oh, you mean the Omega?”

Steve sighed and rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Bucky, this is Tony. Yes, the Omega Logan found. Be nice.” Steve ground out and then turned to Tony, giving him one of his small smiles.

“Tony, this is my mate, Bucky. He’s an idiot who probably goes into rut over the next few days, so excuse his even more asshole behaviour.”

Tony knew that he should greet Bucky. Especially since Bucky greeted him. But his mind was blank. Steve was… big. Well, Bucky was big, too, the very picture of the rugged-looking Alpha.

But Steve looked like the typical, good Alpha, who carried his mates on his hands and brought them flowers before they went into heat. But he had introduced Bucky as his mate?!

“I.. thought you were an Alpha.” Tony brought out and winced, starting to shake when Bucky’s eyes did a thing, making them look like steel. 

Steve just frowned.

“Yeah. You got a problem with that?” Bucky asked, taking a step into Tony’s direction. Hastily, Tony took a step back, looking down while trying to bare his throat without just plainly kneeling down. He shook his head.

“No.. I just… it’s not…”

“Hey. It’s okay, Tony. Bucky is just an ass.” Steve said while lifting his hand. Tony flinched and took another step back. And another.

“It’s just… in my old pack… I’m sorry, I…”

He didn’t dare to look up. But when Steve took a step forward, followed by Bucky, he did the thing his father always told him to never do. 

He ran as fast as he could back to the hospital, more than relieved when he reached it. It was stupid, they could just come in but it seemed safe and…

When Tony looked back there was no Bucky. Nor Steve. Just a confused looking nurse.

Tony took a deep breath and walked slowly back to his room.


	6. Chapter 6

Today was just not his day.

First Clint had woken up cranky, Nick couldn’t be found anywhere to calm him down because it was just _”this kind of cranky, you won’t understand it”_. Then Thor had told him that it was very difficult right now to find dog food for some reason and Pepper had more problems with completing the purchases for the markets than it had been last month. And Logan had asked him if anyone had heard of something that made wildlife retreat (and no, he hadn’t asked why Logan asked. They both knew that neither he nor his brother were allowed to actually _hunt_ the animals outside of hunting season. And even during it, they didn’t had permission. They just did it. But as long they only hunted for their own stock, everyone just pretended they got their prey outside of the pack's territory). And then Strange had just bluntly told him that certain medical treatments wouldn’t be possible because they were out of supplies.

And now Steve stood in front of him, reeking of sex and rut and a lot like Bucky, looking at him concerned in a way that rare even for him.

“I’m just saying. It was… really strange. As if he expected Bucky to lounge at him. Or to be hit. And the way he ran… It was a classical tactic that animals use to avoid being caught, Phil. He thought we would _chase_ him.”

He really had a headache.

“Steve, you, especially you and Bucky, should know that a pure Alpha-pair isn’t a thing that some parts of society just welcome with open arms.”

“I know!” Steve almost yelled, desperate. Why the hell hadn’t he waited until Bucky was out of his rut to talk to him?

“But, it didn’t seem to be that. Or, well, he seemed to be surprised, sure, but not… disgusted or anything. But the way he panicked, that was just… strange. And the way he acted with me. It was not really consistent. One minute he was like one of those picture book Omegas, the next he was full of life, telling me what he enjoyed and then suddenly it was back to being quiet, sometimes flirty.”

Steve took a deep breath and seemed to deflate a bit.

“I’m just worried. Maybe you could tell us a bit about his old pack? Then we could… well, not act accordingly to it, because they were probably a bag of dicks but… accommodate, you know?”

Phil knew that Steve didn’t mean any harm. He was just a bit over eager sometimes.

“Tony’s pretty closed up about his former pack, Steve. And even if I knew the whole story, it’s not mine to tell. So far, he doesn’t seem to be a danger to our pack and Nick thinks he would fit in, and I trust him with that. You know that.”

When Steve opened his mouth, Phil just raised his hand.

“I’m with you, depending on how Tony’s former pack acted as a pack and around him, we can accomodate to help him to get settled. But it’s still not even sure if he wants that. I can offer you that I’ll talk to him. Or that Nick talks to him, again. I can’t promise that there will be more information afterwards. I can’t promise that Tony will stay or that everything will be fine within hours. What I can promise though is, that no matter what he tells one of us, if he tells us anything, you won’t get to know it from us. It’s not your business until Tony _decides_ to trust you. Did I make myself clear?”

Steve clenched his teeth together, looking for a short moment as if he wanted to argue. Then he nodded, looking oddly formal. 

“Sure, Sir. Thank you.”

Maybe, after Steve was gone, Phil would scream. Or break the mirror. Or would try to find Clint or Nick. Maybe both of them. That was a good plan.

“Good. I am glad we are on the same page. And now, back to your mate. I think you’re more needed there than here, don’t you think, too?”

This time, Steve didn’t answer. He just nodded and turned around, practically running away, probably to the house he shared with Bucky. Or fetching food. None of the Alphas were good at stocking up everything in time.

“I assume you try to talk me into talking to the boy?”

Phil was mated to Nick for over twenty years now. He still flinched when he did that thing where he just appeared out of nowhere.

“Well, he doesn’t know me. For him, I’m gonna be just some Alpha who tries to get information out of him. He knows you, at least a bit. And we really need to have a few more infos about him. At the very least we need to find out if he has a problem with any… unconventional mating agreements.”

Nick snorted and shook his head.

“Yeah, one way to put it. Need to talk to Rhodes, too. And fast. If the boy decides to stay, he needs a place to do so. Rhodes needs to set him up. And what he can do. Rogers said anything about those interests?”

Phil shook his head and put his head on his mate’s shoulder, relishing in the contact he knew was only welcome because Phil felt bad. Nick wasn’t big on touching. Or any other kind of intimatities. 

“No. But at least we know he has some, that’s something, right?” Phil asked wrily and took a step back.

“The last time we said that, we found out that Clint likes to shoot things with a bow. Any idea where he is?”

Phil shrugged and walked towards his desk.

“Kind of. It’s one of those days. He needs a bit quiet. Just try to be here in the evening.”

Nick didn’t say anything while he went to his own desk, but Phil knew that he would be there.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony didn’t go outside again for the next few days. Well, no, he went outside. But only when his thoughts were keeping him from sleeping and only to the bank near the woods that could be seen from the hospital.

During the day, though, it was a rare thing. But he tried. Only a few minutes in the beginning, always avoiding people he didn’t see at the hospital anyway. Today had been a good day. He spend almost thirty minutes outside and even talked to a little girl - well, the girl talked to him, telling him all the fun things they will do for her Papa’s birthday because her Dad always treats them to something really special then, and she couldn’t tell her Papa, but there was a fair in a few days in another town, and they would go there!

It had been fun listening to her but also exhausting. He just needed a bit quiet. A bit of time for himself. Sure, he would be alone with his thoughts again. With his thoughts about his old pack. He would be alone with his worries about Scott and his pup. With his thoughts that he was all alone, now. That he still didn’t know what to do. But those thoughts, they were normal now. They were just… there. Nothing he could change. Not really. But there would be quiet, at least, until dinner time would roll around.

But when he took the turn into “his” corridor, he almost ran into someone. Mainly because they didn’t move out of his way.

“I’m sorry.” Tony mumbled. He’d seen the man around, but never really talked to him.

“No problem. I’m Clint by the way. I have a request.”

Tony froze and stared at the man. He wasn’t built like an Alpha, but Tony had learned that here, it didn’t mean anything. It didn’t sound like a command, but one could never know. But then, the other man actually looked uncomfortable.

“Listen, just… don’t take my Alpha from me, okay? I worked my ass off to get his attention, and now he always seems to be worried about you. Just… stay away from him, okay?”

Before Tony could open his mouth, telling the man that he didn’t want to cause any trouble, that he didn’t even _knew_ who the other Omega’s (?) Alpha was, the man was already gone.

Great, Tony thought while going into his room. Now he had to worry about the Alpha of this Clint, while not even knowing who the Alpha in question was and, even more important, how to pay the pack back for the generosity of letting him stay. Of using their resources on him. Maybe he could convince the pack Alpha to let Tony stay and let Tony work it off… somehow. He just had to come up how. He knew how to do most Omega jobs. He couldn’t do them well, not as good as building stuff or anything, but he doubted that they would turn a blind eye on it just like his old pack had done while he’d been claimed.

A knock brought Tony up again. 

No one entered. Therefore, no hospital staff. They usually knock and then come in. That meant it was either someone Tony didn’t know or it was the Pack Alpha Fury. Tony absolutely didn’t know which option he preferred. But not calling to come in would be rude, especially if they saw him entering the room. And there was no reason to keep a rude Omega around (“Anthony, do whatever you want in here. I know that you’re not like the Omega’s they like to have here. But outside? Try it. I can only protect you that much.”), so it would either be rude and thrown out or handle even more social interaction than Tony wanted.

“Yeah?”

It was the Pack Alpha. Tony barely contained a sigh. He wanted to show his best side, not just… this.

“You have a minute? If not, that’s understandable. Clint can be quite a handful at some times. Well, most times.”

Oh shit, shit, shit, _shit_!

_Fury_ was Clint’s Alpha. Oh fuck…

“Uhm… sure. And it’s nothing, I’m sure he’s a handful everywhere. Not that this is a bad thing. Quite the opposite.”

Tony winced, barely keeping himself from facepalming himself. It was one thing if an Alpha talked about their Omega, but another person, an Omega nonetheless? Well, he could’ve just said that he thought Clint was useless. That wouldn’t be such a problem: Or, well. Who knows. It wouldn’t have been a problem in his old pack.

“Depends on the day. Did you think about the offer to stay?”

Tony’s head shot up. He thought there would be at least a bit preamble, Fury telling him what would be expected or who his new Alpha would be if he stays here. He felt the heat rising in his cheeks.

“Well… actually… that would be nice, but… just wanting…”

“There’s no obligation to stay here, Tony. It’s an offer. If you decline, that’s your choice and fine for me. Just like when you accept.” Fury said, interpreting Tony’s mumbling wrong. Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat. He only opened his eyes again when he had sat down on the bed. He was exhausted.

“No, I would… I would love to, Sir. But I don’t know if I can. I mean… your pack… I may have already angered two Alphas, Sir. And I still don’t know how to repay your kindness for letting me stay until I got my strength back. And I don’t know the hierarchy here, I don’t know what kind of Alpha I’m getting send to, and if you haven’t made up your mind yet, I just… the doctor at my former pack declared me to be infertile, but I don’t know actually, I never shared a heat with an Alpha and I’m not that good at those things Omega’s are usually….”

“Stop.”

Tony lost the fight against the tears. But at least they rolled quietly down his cheeks (“For god’s sake… why is he crying now? Well, at least he’s not sobbing his eyes out…”). Now he would get sent away and it was his own fault. As usually. 

A sigh came from Fury and he closed the door which Tony hadn’t even registered that it was open. He just hoped that no one heard what he had just said. That he could say his goodbye and thanks to the nice staff without getting humiliated.

Fury sat down on the plastic chair and just looked at Tony before he shook his head.

“Now listen good, boy. I have no fucking clue what that asshole pack of yours did to you or how it works there. And I don’t even want to know. So, here’s a short rundown how _I_ run the things around here - and nothing else is important, got it?”

Fury waited until Tony nodded before he continued.

“We nursed you back because if we wouldn’t have done so, you would’ve died out there. Hell, Logan was pretty sure that you would die anyway. In this pack, everyone's the same. No matter what gender they are or what kind of position they have. If Clint acts like an ass, you can be sure he won’t be treated any special. If Banner acts out of line, it will get handled. If I act out of line, believe me, there’s someone who would stare at me disappointed enough to challenge a kid on christmas which didn’t get their fucking pony. You don’t need to be of use here for anyone, no matter if Alpha, Beta or Omega. If you say no, you say no. If they still try to act funny, you punch them in the face and report them. So far so clear?”

Tony nodded, barely keeping in the sarcastic laughter. Sure. Just punch them in the face. No big deal... 

“Good. I know that you don’t believe me. I know that you probably won’t believe me for a long time. But that’s your problem, not mine. You won’t live with an Alpha if you don’t want to. I can ask around who would take you in if you would feel safer around someone, but I think we both know that this is not the case. I have someone who organizes the housing around here. A rough plan where everyone lives, how big their house is and so on. He will find something that fits you. You can go and talk to him if you have any special requests. One day, you will be expected to either buy it or pay rent for it like everyone else here. I don’t take kindly to people leeching off of society, but I know that not everyone can find a job here or in a nearby town, especially if the person in question might not have any skills or doesn’t want to travel to a befriended pack to find work there. If the problem will be your skills, we can always send you back to school, if you have skills, there are classes in the evening, usually, if you want to expand them. You would have to talk to Foster about what they offer at the moment. You went to school in the first place?”

Tony’s head started to swarm with that much information. He was allowed to stay on his own? To _work?_ No matter what kind of work they would give him, he would gladly take it. He hadn’t been allowed to work in his old pack, even if Jarvis would have allowed it. And school… he could learn more? Even if he already had some skills he could use?

“I… yes. Went to college. I… the teachers said something about genius, before I presented. Have a degree and everything. Went to a school for Omegas a short while, but they threw me out.”

Fury raised an eyebrow.

“I’m impressed. We don’t throw anyone out. If you want to take on more traditional courses, there are some for younger Omegas, so you would be the oldest one, but I don’t think that’s a problem. And now to the important part - those courses are not mandatory. If you want to learn how to sew and cook and shit, do that. Have fun. If not, fuck it. High School is mandatory here, everything else is up to the student. Sensitivity class is mandatory just like divided sex ed, taught by either an Omega, Beta or an Alpha, depending on the class. If you need one of those, you are more than welcome to join them. If not, I just assume you know how to act without being an idiot.”

Tony gaped at the Alpha. They had _divided_ sex ed? No Alphas howling when an Omega dared to ask a question? Omega teachers?

A small smile spread on Fury’s face.

“You see, we are probably different from your former pack. We are quite liberal. We have all kinds of structures here. No one here cares if you prefer to live after old traditions and structures or if you fuck your Alpha while another Omega holds them down. As long as you don’t get on anyone's nerves or hurt anyone? Not our business. Due to this point we don’t really attract people who like to live after those old traditions. We have them, sure. But they don’t care what you do as long as you don’t get too noisy about their life. Don’t know if they’re done in your old pack, but every year we still have a mating run. It’s voluntary, but there are always quite a few participants. Those are consensual, the pairs usually decided upfront. But if that’s something you can’t handle, well, you can’t miss it. It’s a big thing here. We also pretend that we don’t see it when a few couples do their own run as long no one’s getting disturbed by it. That’s the most important thing here. If people don’t get disturbed by it, you can do whatever you want.”

Fury leaned back and looked at Tony.

“Any thoughts on that?”

Tony still gawked at Fury, hastily closing his mouth. This sounded… like heaven. It sounded unreal. Like… those things didn’t exist. He had heard that there were more liberal packs out there and even those packs _”that didn’t knew how much damage they did to society, to good people while acting like that”_ \- but then, Obadiah had probably talked about this kind of pack, if Tony thought about it.

And still, he just… that sounded just too good to be true. And usually, if something was too good to be true, then it was.

“I… can I… uhm, what do I call you, should I accept?” Tony asked dumbfounded. He hadn’t heard anyone referring to Fury, actually.

Fury let out a barking laugh.

“Don’t care. Fury, Alpha, asshole, take your pick. There’s enough of it floating around to find something that you like.”

Tony frowned, but nodded. Who the hell called their Alpha ‘Asshole’ and still lived to see the next day?

“Okay. I just… you said I could work?”

Fury nodded, not saying anything.

“Anything I want?”

“Well, if we have a job for it, sure. If not, I can ask around. You said you have a degree. I take it it’s nothing traditional if you weren’t allowed to continue.”

A humorless laughter bubbled up in Tony.

“No… I… I have a degree in engineering. Wanted to get another one in robotics, but then I presented. I love to build things or fix things. Everything science related, actually.”

To his credit, Fury didn’t even twitch. He just nodded thoughtfully.

“Foster said she needs a science teacher at the high school. That could fit. Maybe shop class, need to ask her if they still offer that class or if the current teacher burned it down already. Rogers also said something about needing another mechanic. If both isn’t for you, like I said, I’ll ask around. If you still want to have something to do, the animal shelter is always looking for volunteers, but Thor can be a bit much.”

Tony ignored the last sentence. They were looking for a mechanic! And Fury had even _told Tony about it_! Maybe… just maybe he could even have it? If the owner of the garage was willing to hire an Omega, that’s it.

“If… if the owner hires Omegas, I would love to try myself at the garage, Sir.” Tony said, hating how hopeful he sounded (“Never show them how much you want something, darling. They will use it against you”), but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Fury snorted.

“Alphas, Omegas, Betas, everything in between. Rogers isn’t picky as long you can work. He will probably want to do a trial period first, though, so be prepared for that. But if you want to try it, I will tell him to expect you next week.”

Tony just nodded, this time crying in happiness.


	8. Chapter 8

It felt strange, slowly walking out of the hospital.

He had done so a lot of times, always walking to his bank and just… watching. Sometimes, Tony had even gone into the town.

But today was different. He had his bag slung over his shoulder and it felt… final. Even if it was (probably) just a few buildings down the road, as Bruce had told him. To the house where Fury had put him. Or, well, the guy who did this for Fury. 

His house. His _own_ house. As in, his property, in a few years, if he wanted to buy it.

Tony still couldn’t really believe it. In his old pack, no Omega owned _a house_. In fact, they rarely owned anything. His mother had been an exception, but then his mother’s family had always been wealthy. Sure, after the mating with his father everything had gone to him, even though he had been a Beta, but still… she had brought a lot into the marriage.

And now, Tony had his own house. Privacy. He could do everything he wanted.

Tony was still deep in mind when someone touched his shoulder, causing him to flinch. The person who had tapped him took a few steps back, raising their hands. Only after a few seconds Tony recognized the Alpha that had been angry at him just a few days ago…. Bucky. Bucky was the name.

Tony looked to the ground, trying to get his breathing under control.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to spook you, but you didn’t react when I called out your name and… well, I’m sorry for that.” Bucky started, causing Tony to stare at the Alpha as if he lost his mind. He was _apologizing_? Just because he… what? Had touched Tony to get his attention after Tony had ignored him, even if he had done it unintentionally?

Tony stared at Bucky with his mouth open and shook his head.

“Uhm… okay? How can I help you, Alpha?”

Bucky looked uncomfortable for a second.

“Just… Bucky. I’m no one’s Alpha, okay?”

Tony nodded, but didn’t turn his eyes away again.

“Anyway, I wanted to apologize to you. You know, about how I acted when I met you. Stevie was right, I was almost in rut, did come from work way too late to have a clear head and I just… overreacted. You had a valid question, I just… I didn’t grew up here, my old pack wasn’t that friendly with people having a same sex relationship regarding their second gender, you know? Especially towards Alphas. The others could be overlooked, but Alphas? Na, we were already rare so… yeah, a no-go. And sometimes, I forget that people are just surprised and don’t mean anything by it.”

Tony… stared. Then blinked. Then, he slowly nodded.

“I… okay. No harm done, I think?” Tony says slowly and then sighs.

“It would’ve been unthinkable in my pack, too. So… I was just surprised. I didn’t know that this was a thing. So, we’re good?”

Bucky grinned at him, looking like a kid who got it’s Christmas wish lying right under the tree. It was a good look on him. Better than the murder-look from a few days ago.

“Yes, doll, we’re good.” Bucky said, bringing a blush to Tony’s cheeks, before he frowned and nodded at the bag.

“You going somewhere special?”

“Well, I hope so. I’m looking for the Tallahassee Avenue 32. The pack Alpha told me I could stay at this house.”

Bucky nodded thoughtfully.

“Yes. House’s empty, Bruce and Thor, needing some quiet. Moved a bit back out to the woods. Come on, I know where it is, I show you.”

Before Tony could answer, Bucky already started to walk.

Well… at least he would get there, right?

“Wait, Bruce’s old house? Like… Bruce Banner, who treated me at the hospital?”

Bucky laughed and Tony had to admit, it was a nice laugh.

“Yeah, he’s the one. They both can have quite the temper. Wouldn’t be the first time someone called the police on them because they’re yelling at each other. You will see the first time they disagree on something in public. As much as they love each other, on some days I really don’t want to be there when they fight.”

Tony was a bit surprised, but nodded. Bruce hadn’t seemed to be one who liked to have fights. But then, his father had always said that everyone had this one person, who just ticked some box. And Ana, Jarvis' late wife, had told Tony always that it wasn’t bad to fight with your mate. It could make a bond stronger, if they both need it. So he just believed Bucky that they loved each other. 

He hadn’t met this Thor, yet, anyway, so Tony was the last one who could have an opinion on that.

“Anyway, if you need help, I can give you my number, or the landline. I’m always happy to help new people around. God, I sound like a creep.” Bucky offered, the last part only murmured and probably not meant for Tony to hear. He laughed.

“Thank you. But I haven’t got a phone now. Maybe I have a landline? I don’t know. I just try to settle in over the next few days, first. But thank you.”

Bucky nodded, looking relieved.

“Sure, no problem. You can always ask questions. Most people here aren’t bothered by it. Well, Logan and Victor are always bothered by something, but they rarely come into the town anyways. And well… they are always grumpy and don’t talk. Lensherr isn’t any better, but he will answer most of your questions. He just doesn’t want to and makes that very _very_ clear. But he’s usually either at work or at home. If you see someone grinning like a shark turned mad in a police uniform - that’s him.”

Tony raised an eyebrow.

“Okay?”

“Yep. He’s a good guy. Somehow. Just… a bit strange. But then, we all are, somehow. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here. This whole pack is made up from misfits, somehow. Anyway, here’s your house.”

Tony startled, and then looked to the house they stood in front of. It was a lovely brick house, looking sturdy and very comfortable. He couldn’t wait to go inside, to just… be there.

“So, if you have questions, I work at the school. You can ask questions whenever you want. If I’m in class, you might need to wait a bit. Did Fury already put you to work somewhere?”

Tony looked to the ground, feeling uncomfortable the first time since Bucky apologized. Just because the Alpha seemed to be open minded about a lot of things, it didn’t mean that he thought highly of working Omegas. Or Omegas doing physical work. It was, after all, one thing to know something in theory and an entirely another thing to be confronted with those things you are supposedly okay with.

“I… he gave me a few options. I took the garage. He told me they were looking for a mechanic and I… well, I can do that. I like it.”

Bucky rose both eyebrows, causing Tony to flinch innerwards. But the disgusted look never came.

“Well, at least the mystery is solved now who took the job. Stevie’s been looking for another mechanic for weeks now. But they’re hard to find, seemingly, at the moment. Just like lot’s of other things. I hope it works out for you. Stevie’s always complaining that there are a few difficulties at the garage. Don’t know exactly what he means by that, though.”

Tony let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he held in. 

“Stevie? Like, your mate, Steve?” Tony then asked, sounding surprised. Sure, the Alpha was built like a brick wall, but that didn't necessarily mean that he worked hard. Just that he had muscles. And you could get them through all kinds of things.

Bucky nodded and then grinned.

“Yep! He will be happy to hear that you have the job. He beat himself up that he couldn’t calm you down. Anyway, have a nice evening and have fun getting settled in. Steve probably still has the number connected to the house from the time Thor lived here, here’s ours.”

Bucky gave Tony a slip of paper with a number scribbled on and Tony honestly couldn’t say when Bucky did that. He took it anyway.

“I meant it, if you need anything, just call us.”

Tony nodded and said his goodbye to Bucky, looking after him for a few seconds before he went to the house and tried out which key fitted.

“Home sweet home.” Tony murmured when he opened the door and stepped in, letting the door fall close behind him.

He didn’t go any further. He just slided down with his back to the door and stared at the corridor that led to the living room. He could see a comfy looking couch.

He had a home now. A new pack. 

He could start new.

And if he cried a bit, well, nobody could blame him. It has been a lot over the last few weeks.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony wanted to throw up. He didn’t know if he had ever been this nervous in his entire life. Maybe on his first day at MIT. He didn’t know. His parents had been there. Here, there wasn’t anyone. And the garage was still closed. So maybe he was early? Tony checked his watch again. Well, he was early, but not that much. Tony sighed and started to walk around the shop. Maybe there was a backdoor? An entrance for employees?

“Hey! You! Garage still closed. Well, you probably noticed that. But then, most people come to a mechanic with their car. Where is it? I mean, we are still closed for another fifteen, but if you need to have your car looked at, it would be good to have it.”

Tony startled and looked at the blonde man who had talked to… well, probably him, but Tony couldn’t say because the guy was typing on his phone at the same time, leaning on the door frame of an open door. And wow, he talked _fast_.

“Uhm… I don’t have a car.”

“Ohhh, I love mystery’s! Please tell me there’s one! But then, the Boss gets quite…”

“Wade! What is it?”

“Oh, there he is. Just like Santa. Just without the beard and the belly. So, Santa in sexy.”, the guy said and then leaned slightly into the room behind him.

“Say, Stevo-Boy, what do I have to do to make you wear a Santa costume, just for me? Well, you can leave out the coat and the trousers. Hat and boots are fine.”

A sigh could be heard and then Steve came out of the room, taking a look around, which finally fell on Tony. A wide smile spread across the Alpha’s face.

“Tony! There you are. Sorry for this one, but you will get used to him. Someday. I’m still waiting on that day, but I'll tell you when it arrived.” Steve said, nodding to Wade, who gasped dramatically and pretended to grasp his chest.

“Stevo-Boy, my one and only, how could you? What have I done to you to despise me like that?”

Steve snorted and pointed into the room.

“You’re opening today. It’s Tony’s first day here, I’m gonna show him around. Behave.”

Wade grinned and _hopped_ into the room.

“Another eye candy! Obviously I did something right.”

Steve waited a few seconds before he turned to Tony again, looking sheepish.

“I swear, you really get used to him. And if he gets too much, just tell him. He’s not a bad guy. Just… talkative.”

Tony chuckled and stepped closer to Steve.

“I realized. So, uhm… hi?”

Steve managed to look even more sheepish, somehow.

“Good morning, Tony. Or do you prefer Anthony?”

Tony shuddered.

“Tony, please.”

Steve nodded and stepped to the side.

“Okay. Come in. It’s nothing difficult, it’s not much. But the work is crazy. Alpha Fury told me you knew your way around engines?”

~*~*~

Steve had been right. The garage wasn’t much, barely big enough to fit three cars in it to work on. A small waiting area, two rooms in the back that served as a break room/changing room, office and a bathroom with a single shower.

But the amount of work? Tony was astonished. Not even an hour after he arrived, the bays were already full, some just wanting an oil change, some having real problems with their cars and some just wanting a check-up.

True to Steve’s words, Wade seemed to be nice. Just very extroverted. But he seemed to know how to keep it in balance and customers seemed to know what to expect when talking to him.

It didn't change the fact that by the end of the day Tony probably knew everything about Wade that's there to learn. Well, probably not. But, a lot of it. And a lot of his relationship with someone called Victor (“Never saw anyone that’s as grumpy as him. Seriously, on good days that guy barely says ten sentences. I’ve known his brother first and I already thought _he_ was bad, but Victor? Whole new tip of the iceberg. But he’s good in bed and, after you get to know him, loveable, so we grew on each other. He just won’t admit that out loud.”) and had a quick rundown on probably all the gossip around town (“Seriously, anyone would’ve been shocked. We are talking about the most bamf woman here, ever. Well, don’t tell May I said that. She will probably kick my ass from here to sunday. Natasha will probably join her, just for the fun of it. Have you met Natasha already? She’s one of the therapeutists at the hospital, so you’ve probably at least seen her. Anyway, obviously they’re trying for a kid, not Melinda and Natasha of course, but…”).

Tony was still very glad when the day ended and Wade practically fled the garage (“Dude, ten years. That’s a whole lotta new thing!”). Tony hadn’t been aware how much he had missed the silence.

“Well… you’ve been right. He’s… unique.” Tony decided to say when he realized Steve just looked at him. The Alpha snorted and nodded.

“One way to put it, yeah. Up to this day I admire that Creed didn’t already drown Wade in the river or suffocated him with a pillow.” Steve laughed and put away a few tools.

“How did you like it? Everything went fine?”

Tony hummed and nodded. The work was fun. Doing things was fun. Talking with someone was fun. All the things he had missed since college. And god, how had he missed this work, as un-Omega-like as it probably was. He just hoped that Steve would keep him at the shop.

“Yes. I like the work. It’s… calming, you know?” Tony asked, knowing how stupid it sounded for most people. But someone who did the same job would know, right?

Steve hummed agreeingly. 

“And there was a lot of work. Are those people all from the town?”

Steve closed the drawer and shook his head.

“No. Nearby, there are a few small packs. They have the necessary stuff, but for a check-up, they need to come here. The next bigger pack would be the Sokovian’s, they have a garage, too. But they’re around two hundred miles away, so most people come here. And if we can’t get parts, we contact them to ask if they have the parts and can either send it or if we can send our customers to them. It’s the same way the other way around.”

Tony nods. That sounded… logical. He hadn’t heard of a pack that’s called Sokovian, but then in his old pack there was always someone who could repair a car.

“Would you like to join us for dinner?”

Tony froze, not looking at Steve. Did Steve just ask him out? Or, was it common here for coworkers to share dinner? Or was it a test? But what if it wasn’t one, did Bucky know about this invitation? Would Bucky _be there_? But then, Steve had said _”we”_ , hadn’t he? Or had Steve meant someone else than his mate?

“As friends. And only if you want to. Bucky offered to cook italian. Do you like italian? If not, we can switch. Then it would be burgers or something like that. Or we could go out, but I don’t know if we can get a reservation somewhere nice. And we wouldn’t think that you felt comfortable in a bigger mass of people yet, so…” Steve rambled and trailing off, obviously unsure how to continue.

Tony still didn’t know what to say. At hom… in his old pack, he knew what this would’ve been. But here…?

“Uhm…” Tony started, but Steve raised a hand.

“I… as friends. If you won’t mind. No expectations or dates or anything. As friends.” Steve trailed off again.

Tony thought about it.

He liked them. They were nice and quite different from the Alphas he got to know in his old pack. But he still couldn’t be sure, because he didn’t _knew_ them. And people sometimes just changed their behaviour without a valid reason.

“Okay. I… that sounds nice. When will I have to be where?”

The smile Steve gave him was worth it. Tony was convinced by that.

~*~*~

Bucky stood in the kitchen, waiting for Steve to say goodbye to Tony.

Dinner went remarkably well. Better than Bucky had expected. Sure, it took Tony a few minutes to get over whatever behaviour had been trained into him and just be Tony, but it was absolutely worth it to see the Omega’s face lighten up when he told them about a few things that interested him. Or a few stories of some people who had been dear to him in his old pack (“Ana was… she was just something else. Like, you know those people you just absolutely don’t want to anger because they will hit you with a pan and then fuss over you? That was Ana.”) - and he’d been wonderful. Just perfect. 

“We should ask him out and court him.” Steve said, standing suddenly in the kitchen with Bucky. Well, he probably had been standing in the door frame for a few minutes already, but.. details.

“You think he’ll give us the time of the day?”

Steve shrugged and started to let water into the sink.

“Maybe. We can only try. He seems to realize that this pack isn’t like his old pack of dicks.”

Bucky snorted and nodded while grabbing a towel. They needed a dishwasher. Maybe he should buy one while Steve wasn’t looking and just face the disappointed puppy look afterwards.

“Yeah. Doesn’t seem to be that difficult. You think he’s in for courting?”

“If it’s not that traditional, why not?”

“Yeah. But I’d like to… don’t know. Pamper him? You know what I mean, don’t laugh.”

Steve at least tried to prevent the laughing. Bucky knew that it wasn’t as bad for Steve as for him. Neither knew why Bucky’s instincts were stronger. Neither of them cared usually. No one here cared, usually.

But with Tony, this could be a problem.

“Yes, I know. How about that, we get to know him better and then we can decide how to proceed? Tony can get settled in a bit better first, too.”

Bucky nodded, but didn’t answer, drying off the plate in his hands.

This plan was good. Just like most plans Steve had. But he had already seen lot’s of good plans blowing up because of shit. Mostly because Steve had done shit. 

Hopefully, this wouldn’t be one of them.


	10. Chapter 10

6 weeks later

Tony tried not to stare _too much_ at the food container in his hands. It had just appeared at work in the fridge with his name on it. Just like on almost every other day.

He knew that it was Steve’s handwriting. He knew that Bucky cooked it because Bucky was better at cooking chicken parmesan than Steve.

Tony also tried to ignore the feeling of the wrist watch Bucky gave him a few weeks ago. Tried to ignore the feeling of the belt Steve had given him because Tony had complained that jeans just _never_ fit right.

He tried to ignore how he felt about it because he knew what those gifts were. Those and the smaller ones like the food, or Bucky bringing Steve _and_ Tony a pastry from the bakery. Steve helping Tony to set up the house so it felt like home.

Tony didn’t know how he felt about those courting gifts. Didn’t know if he wanted to feel anything about it. So he just tried to ignore it.

Of course, he could accept. But… he didn’t know how that worked here. In his old pack, it would mean courting until his next heat. Then a bonding bite. Then… practically living only for his Alpha. Tony couldn’t imagine that here, it would be similar. He had seen too many Omegas with a bonding bite working. 

He could ask Bruce. They still met every then and now. Or he could ask Wade. This would be a bit like opening Pandora’s Box, but he couldn’t imagine that Wade would lie to him. Not about that. He was also the only Beta with a bite he had seen around, so maybe Wade would be the best, but then the bite always healed, so it wasn’t a mating bite and…

“They’re good people. If you think you like them, you should give them the time of the day.”

Tony would deny the yelp that came out of him until he died. After he made sure he didn’t die of a heart attack he looked up to see Clint standing there, at least looking a bit sheepish.

Why Clint was here, at _Tony’s_ bank near the forest, he couldn’t tell. As far as he knew only the little girl, Kayla, came here to play.

“Sorry. Didn’t want to startle you.”

“How the hell can you be just _there_ without making a sound?!”

Clint shrugged and sat down on the ground, even though it was probably only around 48 degrees.

“Advantage when you were a con artist.”

Tony couldn’t tell if the other Omega was kidding or not. Clint grinned and sprung up again, fidgeting.

“I wanted to say sorry. For… what I said a few weeks ago. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. Flirting, it’s good for survival. I know. It’s just… most times I can’t really play nice with other Omegas. Nothing to do with you, particular. If that happens again, call me out on my bullshit.”

Tony felt his eyebrows wandering up.

“Sure. No problem. I think.”

Clint grinned again, this time happy.

“Good. I’m gonna do a trip to a nearby pack. Steve said he needed some parts he can’t order or something. Asked me if I can try to find them. You need anything?”

Tony shook his head, not really knowing what to say. He didn’t need anything. He could probably tell Clint what kind of parts Wade complained about not getting for his Alpha’s brother or something. But then, Steve had already told Clint that they needed parts and well, parts where somehow difficult to come by. At least everything that’s not common enough.

But Clint didn’t seem to take it personal that Tony didn’t answer with words.

“Great. If you change your mind, find Fury. Or Coulson. Or Natasha. Natasha would be your safest bet. Bye.”

Tony looked after Clint who just disappeared into the forest as if this was the normal thing to do.

And why the hell should he find Doctor Romanov?

But then, Tony had learned, the good Doctor (“Natasha. People don’t call me Doctor. It sounds distant. Never let people think you are distant. That way they will be careful of what they say and we don’t want that here, do we?”) had all kinds of contacts.

Tony sighed and looked back at his lunch, starting to eat it. It was delicious, even cold.

Maybe he should tell Doctor Romanov about his situation with Steve and Bucky.


	11. Chapter 11

Tony should’ve called Doctor, call me Natasha, Romanov. He should have talked to Wade. Hell, he should have just packed his things and ran away, even if Jarvis had said it would never be of use (“No matter how often you run, your past is always a step in front of you”).

He shouldn’t have come here.

He shouldn’t have knocked.

And still, Tony had done it. After work, he had gone home like any other day. He ate a bit, barely enough to make him full, but he was working on it. And then he just stood up and walked to Steve and Bucky’s house and was waiting for one of them to open the door.

It was freezing and Tony had forgotten his jacket.

So when Bucky opened the door and just looked alarmed at Tony, pulling him inside the warm house? Tony couldn’t say he was surprised. 

“Doll? What are you… why aren’t you…. _Steve, move your ass down here_ ”

The last part was yelled, making Tony wince. He’d been working on handling loud voices, too. It was even more difficult than the eating thing.

Tony heard a loud noise, someone cursing. Steve, probably. At least, Steve came down the stairs, obviously ready for bed. Or he just walked around half-naked at home. Could be a possibility, too. A very distracting one, but it would still be a valid one.

“Tony! Where’s your jacket?”

“Asking the real questions here, I see.” Tony murmured, the shivering slowly dying down.

Steve chuckled slightly, but Bucky didn’t look less alarmed.

“Come on, doll, we get you into the living room, getting you a bit…”

“Why are you trying to court me?”

The question hung in the air and Tony really wanted to take it back. He couldn’t. And Steve and Bucky were just staring at him as if Tony suddenly had grown a second head. 

Maybe they hadn't been trying to court him? Oh god, maybe they had been nice to him, trying to be friends, trying to do nice things for him?

Tony wanted the floor to open up, to swallow him whole.

He looked to the ground, flustered.

“I mean, all the gifts are nice but… in my old pack they would’ve been courting gifts, and you bring me food, almost as if showing that you can provide and… I’m sorry, I was stupid to think that you would court me. I got confused for….”

“No we do.” Steve said, voice calm. How could he be so calm? Tony’s head shot up, staring at the blond Alpha, slowly looking at Bucky.

Both of them looked at him, a bit bewildered, but still so fucking calm it was creepy.

How could they be so calm when he was about to implode?

“But… why?” Tony finally asked, not knowing where to look. If he would look down, it could be interpreted as being weak. He couldn’t bare his throat. Not now. But if he would look at them, it could be seen as a challenge, and he didn’t want to challenge them. No matter to what.

“Can we talk about this in the living room?” Bucky asked, not touching Tony, always careful to respect his boundaries. That had been a new thing for Tony, but he found out that he loved it. That people were _asking_ to touch him when he wasn’t feeling good.

Tony nodded and went to the couch, just letting himself fall on it. They had a nice couch. Steve sat on the two seater opposite of him, now wearing a shirt.

Shame.

“We are trying to court you. And we thought we were quite obvious about it. Trying to provide for you, dinner, small and useful gifts... “ Steve started and trailed off, uncertain. It made Tony uncomfortable.

“We thought you would appreciate a mix out of modern and traditional. But… we can adapt either way, probably. Never courted someone traditional, though, so I can’t say if I can do that right.” Bucky continued. Tony nodded, still not sure where to look.

“If you’re uncomfortable, or would like to decline the courtship, that would be okay, too. We wouldn’t be thrilled about it, but… it’s your decision. Don’t know about Stevie, but I grew up knowing that you can only chase a willing Omega. If they say no, tough luck.”

“Of course you can deny us a courtship.” Steve added softly.

Tony felt tired. And hot. And maybe just a bit overwhelmed. They were really trying to court him. They were giving him a _choice_.

“But why me?”

Steve chuckled and Bucky gave him one of his half-smiles.

“You’re smart. And funny. You don’t take shit from anyone. Even if you have a bad day, you usually just give back as good as they give. There’s just so much fire in you, Tony, it’s gorgeous.” Steve said, a small smile playing around his lips.

“And we haven’t even started about your looks, doll. Seriously, I could drown in those bambi eyes of yours.”

Tony smiled and then shook his head.

“I’m not a good match. I… there’s just too much that you don’t know. Too many reasons why this won’t work.”

Tony was almost surprised that he was sad about that. But they deserved to find an Omega who could be the right one for them. Not just some broken thing like him.

“Okay. But, if you would be willing to accept our courtship, maybe you could let us decide if we would like to risk it?” Steve asked, looking hopeful. It almost hurt.

“I don’t know.” Tony finally admitted after a few minutes.

“I… if you do something… I think it’s a bit fast for me. A bit too much. Maybe a bit slower? I can’t say I’m not going to change my mind, though. Could be.”

Both of them smiled brightly at him.

“Doesn’t matter, doll. You give us a real chance, that’s already more than we hoped for! We’ll go as slow as you want.” Bucky exclaimed, looking ridiculously happy and Tony found that he wanted to keep that look on the Alpha’s face.


	12. Chapter 12

It was only a few days later when a blue Volkswagen pulled up the garage and a man with sunglasses got out.

Omega. Because contrary to most people here, the man didn’t wear even the slightest blocker. And he just… Tony could smell the comforting scent and wanted to bath in it. It was strong enough to indicate that the Omega was bonded (as if the thin leather… collar? wasn’t enough indication), but not strong enough to indicate a coming up heat. 

“Hey! Can I help you?” Tony called out, but careful not just to walk over. Omegas in his old pack were tactile. Here, he learned, they asked before. 

The man looked around and raised an eyebrow, shooting Tony a small smile, a bit nervous. Still not taking the sunglasses off.

Which didn’t change the fact that one could surmise a bruise.

“Uhm… yes? I was looking for Wade. I have an appointment for a check up with him, so he _should be_ here.”

The jacket and the shirt around Scott’s wrist rode up, showing a bit of skin. Bruised skin. Tony tried not to stare too much.

“Sure. What’s your name?”

“The appointment is probably under Summers. Scott Summers.”

 _Probably_ , Tony thought. The guy hadn’t made it for himself. Tony started to shiver, trying to chase the image of _’his’_ Scott away. He still walked over to the book and tried to find a Scott Summers.

“Sorry, pal, no one with that name in here.”

Scott frowned and made a small sound.

“Logan Howlett, maybe? My Alpha made the appointment. Usually, he would be here now instead of me, but something came up.”

Tony checked again, but could only shake his head again, silently checking for Scott Howlett, but couldn’t find anything either.

“Nope. Nothing in it.”

The Omega in front of him looked _devastated_ and Tony felt how his own stomach tightened with dread.

“Okay, sure. No problem. Can you tell me which appointments are free? I’d like to make one for a check up, nothing’s wrong as far as I know. I will confirm it after talking it through with my Alpha, so nothing in the next two days, please.”

“Let me ask Steve if we have a bit of time, okay?” Tony offered instead, not really knowing why. Just knowing that something in him screamed at him to not let that man go back without a check up. But maybe, he’s just interpreting something wrong. 

Steve would know. Because Steve knew everyone here. He would know if Tony should call the police or just… overreacted.

But yes, Tony could admit, just throwing open the office door and then slamming it shut maybe hadn’t been the best idea he had. He swallowed when the Alpha looked up, clearly irritated.

“Can I help you, Tony?”

“Uhm… yes. No. Well, not really but… there’s this customer and I don’t know if I should call the police because my gut feeling says I should call them but it’s your shop and…”

“Tony… air.” Steve said with a confused smile and leaned forward, looking into the garage before he turned back to Tony.

“Okay. Why should we call the police because of… Scott? Did he do anything?”

“No. Not really. He came in and said he had an appointment, but he didn’t and then he told me his Alpha made it with Wade or something and the guy has a lot of bruises and…”

“Calm down, Tony.”

Tony swallowed and took a deep breath of air, not knowing if he should look at Steve or not. God, he must sound stupid. No matter what it was between Scott and his Alpha, it wasn’t Tony’s business and certainly not Steve’s business.

“Thank you. Can you sit down, please?” Steve asked, sounding so sincere and oh god, hopefully Tony hadn’t just insulted the Omega of one of the Alphas… did that town have several Alphas in charge?

“There’s no appointment because Wade is lazy and forgets that he can get sick, too, especially regarding _his own_ appointments. Scott is his brother in law’s Omega. Logan and he… their relationship is a strange mix between very strictly traditional and something I certainly don’t want to know but it’s consensual. Wade loves to yell ‘Kinky’ across the room, so, no, I certainly never asked. And yes, I can understand that it can be concerning. But believe, I’ve seen that guy yelling his Alpha into the ground.”

Tony blinked and felt stupid. So incredible stupid.

“If you want to, I can do it. That won’t be a…”

“NO!” Tony yells and feels himself blush.

“I just… wanted to make sure. Like, it’s… I just wanted to make sure.”

 _’And feel like an idiot’_ Tony added internally.

“And that’s a very good thing. We need to watch out for each other. I mean, you can always check in with Scott. Or, if you want to wait, they are usually at town meetings. You can meet his Alpha. But I will warn you now - that guy doesn’t seem to be the nicest guy on earth. If he talks at all. Maybe he talks to you without getting glared at by someone. He’s the one who brought you in duri…”

A loud clash from outside interrupted Steve. They both sprung up and ran into the garage, but Scott seemed fine. And only when loud yelling started, they all realized it came from outside of the garage.

Tony felt his heart starting to pump, but he couldn’t make out any words. He just followed Steve, Scott right behind them. But there was… no one. Just Clint. Looking angry as fuck.

“What happened?” Scott asked, sounding serious, almost as if he was in some kind of mode. Clint shrugged, turned around and kicked against a trash can that already laid on the ground. He sighed and picked it up.

Tony looked around. Something was familiar. Something… he just couldn’t place it. But it was a smell, that much he knew.

“Nothing. Just some guys from that idiotic pack again. Something about how it would be better for our Alpha and blah blah blubb.”

While Steve and Clint discussed something, Tony still tried to place the smell.


	13. Chapter 13

“But don’t we like… need to go?” Tony asks, poking at his dessert. He couldn’t eat more. No matter what Steve or Bucky would do to him - if he ate one more bite of this delicious deliciously he would just explode. But there was still some left and… it was hard to leave food behind. Not as much as before, but still.

“No. As long it’s not marked as mandatory, no one needs to be there. And we had a mandatory town meeting like… twice? Maybe three times? Not that often.” Steve answered and stood up, putting his own and Bucky’s empty plate into the sink.

“I can pack it for you. Or, if you want to, you can eat tomorrow….” Bucky said and then started to fidget.

“For breakfast, for example. If you want to. Stay here, I mean, for the night. And eat sweet things for breakfast, doll. But no obligation, just an offer.”

Tony stared at his dessert. Just an offer… but then, they were courting him, making him food and… they had been courting for a few weeks already. He knew couples that had been mated within the first three weeks. Of course they would want to have him stay the night. But then, what would happen should he decide he wanted to go home or…

“If you’re not comfortable with sharing the same room, we have a guest room if some of Stevie’s art supplies don’t disturb you.” Bucky continued.

And Tony had to admit, it sounded nice. Just… waking up in the same house. Maybe hearing them moving around already. Or listening to them getting up, probably all grumpy. It would be sweet.

“Maybe.” Tony finally decided to say. Bucky nodded and stood up, pushing Steve away from the sink with his hips.

“Go away. Do something where you’re not completely useless.”

“Oh, you mean like you with cooking?”

Bucky stuck out his bottom lip a bit, making Steve raise an eyebrow.

“I cook good! See, I fed you! Or do you want to imply that you are eating somewhere else?” Bucky asked, putting a hand on his heart theatrically. Steve grinned and shrugged, fetching the glasses from the table.

“Well, if you ask like that, I must admit that I get fed on a regular basis by someone else. But I didn’t want to hurt you, so…”

Bucky gasped theatrically, pretending to faint. 

Tony only realized that he must have laughed when both Alphas looked at him, eyes twinkling. Then Bucky’s grin turned a bit predatory.

“What? Tell me, are you the one being nice to Steve? Such a good Omega.” Bucky purred. Tony felt as if someone dropped him into ice water. Hastily he stood up, shaking his head and trying to grab his plate.

“No, no. I’m…. I didn’t want to interrupt y…”

The plate was already lying broken on the ground before Tony even registered that it was falling. Spilling the rest of the desert on the floor and Bucky’s jeans. Tony started to shake, trying to locate the broom, a towel… _something_ to wipe away the mess he made, to wipe away the evidence that he broke something that didn’t belong to him. That belonged to an Alpha.

And that just right after he had been rude already, not accepting the offer to stay the night right away. They must think he’s ungrateful, absolutely useless. Why should they even…

“Tony! Hey!”

Tony blinked and looked directly into Bucky’s eyes.

“Take a deep breath for me, doll, would ya?”

Tony just blinked again. And then he sucked in air and felt as if he was dying.

“That’s good, Tony. Thank you. We are sorry. Just breathe. Nothing will happen.”, he heard Steve murmur and when Tony looked down again, the mess was gone. The only evidence left could be seen on Bucky’s jeans.

“I ruined the food.” Tony finally said. Bucky shrugged and how could Bucky shrug? He had made that food, the food that Tony had just… thrown on the ground.

“Happens. I can make a new treat if I wanna. That’s just…”

“I can repay you later, if you still want me, that is.” Tony offered, aiming for a flirty voice but it came out wrong, cracked. Steve even pulled a face.

Scott’s voice sounded somewhere in his brain, way back when they were still too young to really understand how important that skill could be (”It’s easy, Tony. No matter what, let them think there would be nothing better for you right now to get bred. Flirt with them. I know, it’s difficult at first but… better than the alternative…”).

“If you want to stay, doll, you’re more than welcome to. But… not like that. We don’t… we… why would you…” Bucky stammered, looking confused and Tony… really didn’t know what Bucky was trying to say.

Steve finally took pity on Tony.

“You know that we don’t demand sex from you, right? For… anything. Or that you have to apologize with sex. Not over a broken plate or spilled food or anything else.”

And just like that, Tony felt as if someone had sucked all the energy right out of him. He didn’t know, because that’s now how Alphas worked. He still nodded.

“Sure.”, he mumbled, feeling very tired suddenly.

“Wanna make me get that bed ready for you? Or would you prefer that I fetch the car keys? Or Steve. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable, Tony.” Bucky said, sounding as tired as Tony felt.

Tony couldn’t really bring himself to care to interpret what it could mean. It would be way easier if they just… did something. Something that’s not so nice.

“The bed sounds nice.” Tony said tentatively and almost started to cry when Bucky smiled, happy, as if nothing happened.

“Sure, doll. Give me a few minutes.”


	14. Chapter 14

The meeting was packed with people and Tony didn’t know if he liked it or not. He had already seen a lot of people he knew, even more than he didn’t know. And they were… nice. Some of them came to talk to them, some ignored them because they talked with other people.

He was still surprised when Steve greeted his therapist with an enthusiastic “Natasha!”. And he certainly didn’t expect a man to come over with her that looked as if he was just a few seconds away from hitting Bucky. But then, Bucky didn’t look any better.

“Barnes.”, the man sneered just when Natasha said, in a strangely happy monotone voice “Steve.”

People started to look and Tony realized it was because Bucky and the other man, an Alpha, were practically oozing hormones. Probably not even knowingly. Tony wanted to hide.

“Tony. I am glad that you are here. You met Coulson already? This is my mate, Brock.”

Tony tried to open his mouth but couldn’t. So he only shook his head. Natasha nodded and seemed to understand because a few words later they were walking away again.

The hormones got better. Even with Bucky staring holes into the head of the other Alpha.

“They don’t like each other. Never did. He’s a halfway decent asshole, as Natasha likes to put it.” Steve suddenly said while starting to walk again, tugging Bucky with him.

“There are a lot of new people. Did the pack bond with another one recently?” Tony asked while watching a few kids running around. Tony thought he saw Kayla, but wasn’t sure.

“No. Our pack, it has a few people that like to be for themselves for some reason. They… practically formed a pack within a pack. Nat and that asshole of mate are one of them. They just live a bit outside of the town. They mostly want to keep to themselves. Some work in the town, some from home, some do jobs where a friendly pack lives. Some… pretend that they don’t do it really old fashioned and are mostly self-sufficient and the Alpha pretends he doesn’t know it.” Bucky explained. Steve snorted.

“What he means is that we have two Alphas that grew up in a real rural, old fashioned pack. They hunt and have a garden to grow food. You met Scott, his mate is one of them. And Wade is… kind of mated to his brother. The brothers aren’t really big on interaction with anyone. Fury ignores it because they rarely cause trouble anymore. Victor more than Logan.”

“Hu.” Tony said, trying to combine ‘Wade’ and ‘traditional pack’, but couldn’t. But then, it seems as if those men didn’t grow up in this pack either, so he would bet that they had their reasons to… not be with their own pack. Original pack. Whatever. They continued to talk a bit about the people until they saw Clint and a man that looked incredibly blank and boring.

Clint waved and walked away.

“You must be Tony. I’m glad to finally meet you. Phil Coulson!”, the man said and offered Tony his hand. Tony carefully took it, not knowing what to say. He was just… overwhelmed a bit.

“Thanks for having me. It’s… it’s a lot.” Tony finally decided, making the man laugh and nod.

“Yeah, it is. I am really sorry for not being able to meet you earlier. But then, there’s always something to do, right?”

“Yeah… that’s one thing. But… it’s really good to be here.” Tony finished and then turned around to just… look. Seeing Scott talking to a man that looked as if he really wanted to be somewhere else, smoking a cigar. Tony raised an eyebrow, surprised when the man’s mouth twitched and scruffed Scott shortly by the neck before wandering off.

Tony knew that gesture. But the reaction, the smile that formed on Scott’s face, that certainly wasn’t a reaction he knew. Before he knew it, he was already walking over to Scott.

“Hey.” Tony said lamely. Scott smirked shortly, obviously seeing right through Tony.

“Hey. How are you?”

“Uhm… good? Fine? Are you? I mean… sunglasses aren’t that common at this time of the year.” Tony answered and wanted to slap himself. Good job. Insult just a random Omega with a very mean looking Alpha.

Scott though, he laughed.

“I have an eye condition. I get really strong migraines if it’s too bright. You will rarely see me without them. They aren’t actually existing to hide a bruise, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Never.”

Yes. Yes he was asking. Because they kind of hid a bruise, not as prominent anymore like a few days ago, but it was still there.

“I appreciate it. But there’s nothing to worry about. He doesn’t look like it, but in reality Logan’s just a big teddy bear.”

“That kills for a living.”

“It’s either that or hunger during winter.”

It sounded logical. And absolutely strange.

“We tried. Logan can’t handle a lot of people and I don’t want to explain to everyone ten times per day where a new bruise came from or why exactly there’s a new bite.”

“I didn’t want to judge. I just… my old pack…”

Scott smiled and nodded.

“I grew up here. It’s difficult for me to imagine that people don’t have a choice. Don’t sweat it.”

A loud shrieking let them both look up, seeing how Logan threw a kid ( _Kayla!_ ) into the air.

“Don’t drop her again!” Scott yelled, made Tony flinch. There was something that just screamed authority and reminded Tony how Steve told him that yes, Scott could in fact stand up for himself. There was also a lot of teasing in it. Logan turned around with a raised eyebrow.

“No? Can only be better after.”, he said, voice gruff, a mix between not enough usage and certainly way too much smoking.

The girl shrieked when Logan caught her, just barely, and got set down, running to Tony and waved at him.

“Hi! You’re not in hospital anymore.”

“Uhm… no. But I live here now, so that’s okay, too. Right?”

Kayla sighed, loud and heavy, nodding solemnly.

“I suppose.”, she said and ran away again, chasing after another girl.

“You look better. Not half-dead anymore.” Logan said and Tony was weirdly glad that he didn’t extend his hand. He just nodded.

“Yeah. I heard you brought me here. Thank you for that.”

Logan just shrugged, eyes fixed on a point behind Tony.

“Sure. C’mon, Cyke, they’re about to get started. Get the kid.”

“Yes, Alpha. Save Kayla something to nibble on.”

Tony would have asked something, he was pretty sure of it, but he didn’t know what. It was so much like the conversations he knew without being anything like it.

But then Bucky yelled for Tony that they were looking for seats before disappearing into the town hall again and Tony just nodded at Logan and walked into the hall, waving at Wade, who excitedly sprung up and down and waved back while an even bigger Alpha (which was quite a thing as Wade wasn’t small…) just looked at him irritated.

Tony was fascinated by the meeting. Fury introducing him officially wouldn’t have been necessary, though… and way less embarrassing when most people turned around to look at him. But then it was mostly pack affairs, some announcements in matings… nothing unusual.

Until…

“Okay, now the important stuff. I invited some people from the pack that wants us to, as they say, merge with each other for the greater good and so on. It’s a big pack and it certainly would have advantages. It’s also way more traditional than we are and they are known for the fact that they only have a few Alphas in charge. Just as I said last time, it’s a pack decision. Is there anyone who would like to have us merge with them?”

Tony was surprised that Fury asked that openly. He was even more surprised that _no one_ raised their hand. Some snorted while others just shook their heads. Fury though didn’t seem to be surprised when he nodded. Neither Steve or Bucky seemed to be when Tony carefully looked.

“Good. Then I will tell them that decision and tell them to finally fuck off. Barton had an encounter with them a few days ago, so if they sniff around uninvited, show them the door. I would also suggest that our hermits move closer to town. We have a few empty houses that should fit all. That pack is known to throw a tantrum when they don’t get what they want.”

“The fuck we will…”, someone murmured, making Scott snort and making Fury look slightly pissed off.

“I said suggest, Creed. I don’t think it’s a good idea either to have your ass here in town. Learn to listen and shut up. Next topic is that several people told me we couldn’t get supplies, starting at the garage, continuing with some groceries and ending with certain fabrics and medical equipment. The list is long. Anyone here that knows if it’s only us or other packs, too? I didn’t hear from other Pack Alphas that they had any problems but it’s not exactly something you put a neon sign upon.”

People started to talk. There was a woman that complained she hadn’t been able to get a few sewing things while Steve said they had a few problems at the garage. A man complained about some kind of food while his mate shushed him.

And then everyone fell silent because Logan had just stood up. That was probably the most interesting and scary thing Tony had seen in a while… Logan wasn’t even big…

“We need a few things from the pack two towns over. We can ask around. Last time they had visitors from that pack, too, though, so don’t know what’s expecting us.”

Fury nodded but there was still a very tense silence now, even when the Alpha started to talk again about things Tony didn’t listen to.


	15. Chapter 15

Steve stared at Bucky, certain that he lost it now. And at the same time, it was so tempting.

“We can’t just ask him over for my rut.” Steve finally said. Bucky just looked very unimpressed at him.

“And why not? I mean, if we take it further, he would need to get used to our scents. Even if he won’t have sex with us, the scent will be there. Imagine being in a house, maybe even your own, and feeling uncomfortable by the scent in it.”

Steve sighed and nodded. Bucky was right. They couldn’t just exclude Tony from that part of their life for… forever.

“Yeah. But… maybe not this one. Seriously, I’m already one mechanic down depending on how Wade’s appointment works out, I can’t just close the garage.”

And the worst thing was, he didn’t even know if and when Wade would need a leave. Hell, depending on how that hormone therapy worked it could be tomorrow already to have that last heat. Steve didn’t even know how long would be out, he just couldn’t ask Tony to stay. He couldn’t even accept the responsibility for his own rut. 

“If it comes down to it, I will talk to the doctor to get a shot for this one.” Steve admitted. Bucky frowned, pulling a grimace.

“The next one would be even worse.”

Steve shrugged. Yes, it would be, but hopefully by then he could count on Wade being available without any issues again. But before he could answer, someone knocked on his door, shortly followed by Tony stepping into the office. Freezing when he saw Bucky.

Steve just gaped at Tony for a short second, trying really hard not to take in a deep breath. 

“Uhm… yes… so… I need a few days off. Before, they lasted around… three days? Maybe four. I can work during pre-heat, but that could change anytime to a full one so… I would need to take a week.” Tony stuttered out, eyes fixed on the ground.

Steve wanted to scream. To hit something. To get closer to their sweet Omega, smelling so wonderful and perfect.

He didn’t do any of these things.

“Uhm, sure. Does the week include a day or two days rest?”

Tony nodded, letting out a relieved breath.

“Yeah, it is. I mean, if you need me to come back right away, I can try. Wade told me that he would have the last shot in a few days. Okay, he told me all about how strange Victor was acting now that it’s getting closer to the finishing line, but… same thing.”

“No, that’s fine. We will manage.” Steve said, already planning to call the clinic later. He certainly needed that shot now.

“If you want to, you can come over later. I can prepare a few things for your heat. Or, I could bring them to you, doll. Or, nothing at all, if you say you have everything.” Bucky suddenly offered. Steve bit his lip, hating that he hadn’t thought about it. Of course his Omega would need food during his heat. 

“I don’t want to cause you any inconveniences. I can get food, that’s not a problem.” Tony said, still looking at the ground.

“It wouldn’t be.” Bucky answered softly and Steve found that he just wanted to hug Tony. It took the other man a few seconds before he finally nodded and looked up.

“If it’s really not, that would be nice. I can come over… would seven work for you?”

“That works just fine.” Steve said, voice a bit hoarse. Tony blushed and went back to the garage. Only when the door fell shut Bucky let out a whimper.

“Sweet mother of jesus…”

Steve couldn’t find anything to add.

~*~*~

Bucky was quite proud of himself.

The whole house smelled like the best scent ever, nothing he could really place, but certainly something with oranges. It reminded him of home, of Christmas when his mother would put the last oranges into a pot to make jam out of them.

And Tony smelled just like that. Like home.

And he was here. And as much as Steve liked to pretend that it didn’t matter to him, he also wanted Tony to stay. To have Tony scent the whole house. Especially since it got stronger. Bucky couldn’t even start to wonder how the Omega would smell while being in full heat.

“Tony? I’m finished. Wanna eat a portion here, too?” Bucky yelled while scooping a big serving into a tupper bowl. That should be enough for at least five days. He had made three different things, just to make sure.

“No, thank you, very much. I should get going. The heat won’t hit until tomorrow evening probably, but I like to be prepared. Thank you again for helping me.” Tony said and Bucky knew that the big stupid lumpf of mate had opened his mouth before there was even a sound.

“You could always stay here.”

Tony went rigid. Clearly trying to decide between how to flee fast enough without being rude and if he should stay just to prevent any problems.

“If not, that’s fine. Want me to drive you home?” Bucky asked. He hated it, but he asked while turning around to glare at Steve.

“Yes, please. Not that I’m not grateful for the offer but, there’s still so much to do and…”

“No harm done, Doll.” Bucky answered just when Steve said:

“Understandable. It was merely an offer.”

It wasn’t until later, when Tony sat in the car, a bag with all his tupper bowls for the next few days, that he found his voice again.

“I’m sorry. I know this must be… frustrating.”

Bucky sighed and turned into the street where Tony lived.

“Honestly? Yes. We want you and we would love it if you stayed with us. You drive us crazy. But that doesn’t matter. It is your heat. It is your decision where to spend it, and how. And even more, it is your decision how to spend your time. You can always tell us to fuck off, no matter if it’s just for a certain time or for good.”

Tony nodded, his smell still telling Bucky that the Omega was nervous. A bit lighter but nervous.

“Goodnight, Bucky. Tell Steve goodnight, too, please.” Tony said, giving him a weak smile. Bucky smiled back.

“Goodnight Tony. If you need anything, just call us.”

Bucky counted it as a win that Tony nodded, still smiling weakly.


	16. Chapter 16

His heat lasted six days. And Tony had never been more happy that it was over. That he could go outside again. Take in a fresh breath of air. Just seeing people again, who just asked if he was okay.

Not if he was finally pregnant. Or if he wouldn’t rather stay inside, preparing the nest for the next heat.

Here, people were just… nice. Indifferent. Letting him be. Even Wade had just waved at Tony on his way to the clinic.

It was nice in a strange way, especially because neither Steve nor Bucky really talked about Tony's heat during lunch. Sure, they asked if he was alright, if he had encountered any problems, but otherwise... nothing. It was a nice change and Tony thought that yes, he may finally have found something. It still wasn't easy to offer what he had thought about.

"If anything goes fine and you still want to, I thought, maybe, if you're okay with it, we could mate during my next heat - not with a run, though, just a mating. It probably won’t hit for another eight or twelve weeks, if at all, but the offer stands. If you still want to, that’s it.”

And even though they were outside, sitting on a bench, eating hot dogs, having children running around Tony, it felt as if any sound had been sucked out of the air. Bucky and Steve just stared at him and Tony really wanted to run away and hide. He shouldn’t have offered it. It was probably too soon or too late to be appropriate. Or maybe there was a rule against an Omega offering, maybe….

“We would be honoured, Tony.” Steve suddenly whispered.

“We would love to take that step with you.” Bucky agreed and the sound came back. He could hear the kids playing and screeching again, a few birds and cars. 

“We wanted to ask you something, too.” Steve suddenly said.

“Originally, if you wanted to be in the house when one of us goes into a rut. But, maybe that changed, so… would it be an option for you to move in after mating with us?”

Now it was Tony’s turn to stare at them. Wasn’t that… included in mating? Moving into an Alpha’s house?

“I… didn’t know there’s the option of living alone after.” Tony admitted, prepared for a look full of pity but none came. Bucky merely shrugged.

“Uncommon, sure. But why not? I mean, before Clint came along, Fury and Coulson didn’t live together either. Sam and Riley still don’t live together. But then, they pretend they aren’t mated either.”

Tony laughed and nodded before shrugging.

“I… don’t know. Probably. But I think that's maybe a thing that needs to be ironed out first.”

Steve grinned while he stole the rest of Bucky’s hotdog when Tony heard a voice he really never ever had wanted to hear again.

“Oh no, Anthony is that you?”

Tony stared straight ahead, sure he had misheard. And then there were Obidiah and Rumiko in front of him, looking all concerned and confused and Tony wanted to throw up his hotdog.

“I am glad to see that you are alive! We were so worried about you!” Obidiah continued and only now Tony realized that he was shaking. And Steve was growling.

“And you are?” Bucky asked, completely unimpressed - oozing hormones and stinking up the whole area, making everything smell like ash.

Tony needed to puke. He really needed to. But he couldn’t. He was sure, as soon as he opened his mouth, he would cry.

“Oh, Obidiah Stane, one of the pack leaders a few towns over. Tony here had been one of us until he decided to try his luck somewhere else.” Obidiah said, offering his hand. Neither Bucky nor Steve took it.

Tony still needed to puke and then there was a hand on his arm, carefully guiding him up.

“Hu, then you’re probably looking for our Alpha. He can be found at the town hall last that I saw him. Now, we need to go. Have a nice day.” Steve said, voice harsh and cold before he started to steer Tony away, Bucky always on the other side.

It didn’t take long before they turned around the street corner.

“Doll?” Bucky asked, voice worried. Tony doubled over and started to puke out the hotdog and whatever meager belongings had been in his stomach, feeling cold and hot at the same time.

They couldn’t take his new home away from him. Not again.


	17. Chapter 17

It took him hours to be calm enough to go back into town. And he wasn’t afraid to admit that yes, he sometimes threw a glance over his shoulder.

Tony still made it to Fury’s office, hoping not to get thrown out of it.

But when he knocked, there was Coulson opening the door, smelling very distinctive of heat. Tony felt bad. They were probably talking about important things before one of them could be back with their Omega and now Clint would have to wait because of Tony.

“Come in. What can we do for you?” Coulson asked before Tony could even offer to come back later. Fury though didn’t look as happy as Coulson to see him. But as far as Tony had seen, the other man never looked really happy.

“I don’t want to disturb you, I just… there were two people from my old pack in town today, and… I assume those are the two you spoke about merging packs with? Obadiah Stane and Rumiko Fujikawa?”

If possible, Fury’s look darkened even more.

“We were just talking about them, yes. But you seem to know them.” Coulson said.

“For what do we have to prepare? They didn’t seem happy, but also seemed to think they would get what they want.” Fury asked. Tony opened his mouth to answer just to get interrupted by the door that got slammed open.

“Subtle, Victor.” Logan grumbled behind him. Standing next to two… kids. Tony couldn’t say it any differently. They didn’t seem to be older than twenty.

“We have a problem.” Creed growled, not bothering to excuse himself. Tony stepped a bit back. Wade can tell him whatever he wanted to, Tony didn’t believe one single bit that Creed was just bark and no bite. And then Tony realized that he had never really heard Creed talking before, which didn’t really help to calm him down.

“Next to you interrupting?” Fury asked, not really impressed by the behaviour, probably used to it, barely glancing at the kids.

“They’re from the Sokovians. The town was burned down.”

Tony swallowed, looking at the kids again. The girl stood there, highly impassive, doing her best to look as if it didn’t matter to her. The boy did the same, but had placed himself between Creed and his… sister probably. One of them reeked of fear.

“Excuse me?” Coulson finally asked and the girl stepped forward. She wasn’t afraid - at least not as much. So, the boy then.

“My name is Wanda. This is my brother Pietro. The pack the Alpha is talking about… they offered to merge with us. Our leaders didn’t want that, as we try to minimize traditional influence… they attacked us a few days ago. Most of us were marked with our designation. My brother and I, we hid.”

“Two more strays can’t hurt.” Logan said, cigar in mouth but not lit. Coulson was already on his way outside, gesturing to the girl, Wanda to follow him.

Fury turned to Creed, nodding.

“I don’t care what you do, but we are going to ramp up our defenses. Tell your Beta that we will have another town meeting, word should spread faster that way.”

Tony saw how Creed shortly winced at the word Beta, but didn’t say anything. Just turning around, joining the group outside. Fury turned to Tony and sighed.

“That’s a thing they do?”

Tony shrugged. He didn’t know. He just knew that his old pack always got its way. Fury nodded and stood up.

“Okay. We will talk tomorrow. I’m gonna call Lensherr, we need everyone out there tonight.”

~*~*~

Bruce packed up everything, glad that it was finally two a.m. and that his shift was over. That he could go home and sleep, maybe get up with Thor and start the day early.

He had just taken off his coat when the door outside flew open, someone coming into the emergency. A nurse cursed. The smell of fear clouded everything.

Bruce walked outside, coat forgotten and froze shortly before trained instinct took over.

“Lay that man down!” Bruce ordered, already running to the unconscious Coulson.

“What happened?” Bruce asked, barely looking at Fury who got enough blood on his clothes that it didn’t worry Bruce. That much could only mean that it wasn’t Fury’s blood - which meant that it had to be Coulson’s.

“I have no clue Banner, but if you don’t put him together again, then God help you.”

Bruce just raised an eyebrow, not doubting Fury’s words one bit while starting to dress the first wound on Coulson’s stomach.


	18. Chapter 18

If Tony wouldn’t have known better, he would have guessed that he forgot a town meeting. The square was _packed_. But Steve had said town meetings were rare, maybe once every second month (which was still way more often than he was used to, but still) so it couldn’t be a town meeting.

And if the one meeting he had been present for was to go by, the pack usually wasn’t that tense.

Tony saw Sam and made his way to him.

“Excuse me? What’s wrong?” Tony asked, just to get met by a worried look.

“Coulson got attacked last night. We don’t know by whom, but most of us assume it was that other pack. Probably thought Coulson was Pack Alpha or something.”

“Wow, that’s…” Tony started just to fall silent when the door next to the town hall opened (Fury’s house, Tony had learned) and Fury stomped out.

“For god’s sake, I have already enough to do with that damn heat and my mate being half-dead. Shut your mouths and fuck off. It’s unlikely that anything happens over the next three days, after the heat we can have a damn meeting that doesn’t hamstring this whole fucking town!”

People started to scatter and Tony couldn’t blame them. 

“Wait, Fury’s an Omega?” Tony whispered, getting met by a look that clearly told him how much of an idiot Sam thought he was.

Maybe Tony was. This pack was the strangest pack he had ever heard of, not talking about _meeting_.

~*~*~

If Tony had thought that the town hall had been busy for the first meeting, or the day after Coulson had been attacked - he had been wrong.

Everyone was talking right now. Everyone. People yelled at each other while others tried to get heard.

“Hell, shut it!” Fury yelled. It didn’t become dead silent, but at least quiet enough that Tony could hear himself thinking again.

“I get that they got violent, but is charging back with the same methods really necessary? What good will it do if we join a war?”, someone asked and people got loud again, arguing. 

This time, Fury whistled and Tony couldn’t stop thinking about a pack of well trained dogs. Maybe they all were.

He stood up and everyone turned to look at him.

“Uhm… hi… so… I was part of that pack. They don’t… they don’t start wars. We were never at war, we never… it was only an announcement that the pack got bigger. It’s a fanatic pack. Not old fashioned like some of you are… they are… let’s say no one wants that when they don’t come out on top.” Tony explained, hadn’t even finished before the humming started again.

“They burned everything down we owned.” Wanda’s voice cut through everything. The air became even more tense. She wasn’t loud. She just… talked.

“They came during the day when people were awake. When no one thought an attack would happen. They started at our leaders house. They just… burned everything. Alpha’s that tried to fight got killed. Omega’s were raped. My… we could barely get away _alive_. No matter what you will decide, remember, that pack is either going down in flames or will make sure your pack will do.”

Pietro stared ahead the whole time but Tony could fill in what Wanda said. Everyone could. He took a deep breath and nodded.

“We need to kill them. Not everyone. Just… the Alphas. The ones that are in charge… the ones that are… just a few. Some Betas, too. Otherwise we will never be left alone.”

The pack was silent, just looked at him. And Tony… could understand it. As far as he learned, no one was really violent. At least not without getting provoked. Wanda nodded. Pietro still just stared straight ahead. They had seen what the other option would be. Tony grew up in it. There just… wasn’t a different choice.

“We need names, Stark. Without names it could be anyone.” Fury said and just like that it seemed to be decided.

And while he wrote down the names of the people that needed to be gone, the only thing he could think of was that he needed to kill Obidiah. And if it would be the last thing he would do. He needed to kill him.


	19. Chapter 19

“For god’s sake, stop doing your psycho bullshit with me, woman!”

Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose. The last few days have been difficult. She had doubted that this would exclude this night, but still… a woman could hope. Well, at least Brock hadn’t taken out his to-go bag. This meant, even though he hated it, he was willing to listen. Which didn’t mean it would be easy.

“If I would do my psycho bullshit I would tell you that you’re afraid to go into a pack similar to what you’ve known your whole life, similar to the one that took away one of the most important humans in your life, because you don’t know if you’re going to kill them or just start to cry. If I would do my psycho bullshit, I would tell you how you’re unsure what killing would do, because then you could finally put an end to that chapter in your life. But I plainly asked if you want to be alone after, Rumlow. Nothing more. So, do we really want to play those games now or do we actually want to acknowledge that one of us or both of us could be dead by tomorrow evening?”

Brock opened his mouth… and closed it again. If it wouldn’t be that serious, it would be funny.

“I can’t, Tasha. I just can’t.”

Natasha wanted to hug him, but she knew it would be counterproductive. Instead, she turned back to the stove and poured both of them a cup of tea.

“The only thing you can’t, or better you shouldn’t do, is to let your life get dictated by choices you made fifteen years ago. Yes, they weren’t the best choices. But you were young. We all made stupid decisions. But those, they don’t matter anymore. They made you who you are right now. But in the end, the only decisions that you are making now are important. You can’t change the past. But you can change the future.”

Brock didn’t answer and Natasha didn’t expect him to. And if both of them stayed up until they couldn’t anymore, no one would know why.

~*~*~

Clint shivered. He was cold, even though they had closed all the windows. Ramped up the heating. It didn’t change a thing. He was still cold and nothing would be able to change it.

His Alpha could die. He would be alone again. Well, not _alone_ alone but… still, alone. What would happen if Phil died? Would Nick throw him out? After all, it had been Phil that had opened their home, their strange relationship. 

“Stop it, Barton. I see them from over here.” Nick said and Clint let out a small sob.

He was so terribly cold.

“What if he dies?”

Nick was silent for a few seconds, long enough that Clint thought he wouldn’t get an answer at all.

“Then he dies. That happens. You know that things like that happen. What is the real problem?”

And well, no one could ever say that Nick Fury tiptoed around anything. Clint loved that about him. That he never tried to hide behind any sentiments. Didn’t mean it was an easy thing, though.

“I don’t want to be alone. I just… not now. I can’t. I mean...”

“Why would you be alone?” Nick interrupted him, still harsh enough to make people flinch. Soft enough that Clint knew he cared.

Clint shrugged and put his head on the blanket, right next to Phil’s hand. Just in case he would wake up and needed something.

"You wouldn't be alone, Barton." Nick finally said and brushed a hand through Clint's hair. It felt good.

"You've been here longer than I." Clint still said, needing to get it out. 

"Yes. So?"

Yeah. So. Clint shrugged again and closed his eyes. He was tired. And still so cold.

"You should stay here tomorrow." Nick said. Clint wanted to argue, wanted to say that Nick should stay. After all, Nick _had been here first._

"No. I shouldn't and we both know it. We both know that you wouldn't be able to concentrate. We both know that I would go mad here."

Clint nodded, too exhausted to argue. Then a thick blanket got laid across his shoulders. Clint closed his eyes. He was still cold, but not as much anymore.

~*~*~

Victor wanted to hit something.

No, that wasn’t right.

He wanted to hit _Wade_. He wouldn’t. He was a better man than his father, at least that’s what Jimmy told him. Still didn’t make the urge to do so vanish.

“What the hell do you mean I shouldn’t go tomorrow? Are you out of your mind? They attacked us, they attacked Coulson! They were at the fucking garage! They are threatening to take away everything that’s not only _my_ life but yours, too! I just… what the fuck do you mean I should stay here?”

Victor raised an eyebrow. Wade knew what time it was. He probably couldn’t smell, because it wasn’t as strong as it used to be, but the smell was there.

“It’s dangerous for you.” Victor answered, making Wade laugh hysterically before he stopped, staring at Victor as if he lost his mind. He wasn’t wrong.

“No, Victor. It’s dangerous for everyone. For me, for Logan, for Tony, for Barnes, for you. No, what you are saying is that I should stay at home like a good Omega because you still can’t come to terms that I’m not that anymore.”

Maybe a slap wouldn’t be that bad, Victor thought while screaming inside. It always came down to that. 

“You’re going into _heat_ , Wade. No matter what you say or the hormones try to do. It’s a fact and people can _smell_ it. What will you do if this one is stronger than the last ones? The Doc told you to expect a strong one before it gets weaker, right? Told you that it wouldn’t be long anymore.”

Victor wasn’t at all surprised at the glass that got thrown into his direction. He was a bit surprised that Wade missed, though. He wasn’t sure it was by accident. 

“I can do it.”

“Never said anything else.”

“Fuck off. We both know you’d prefer your Omega back. Well, bad luck. And I’m going tomorrow, so shut it.”

Then Wade was out of the door. Smoking or wandering around. Could be both, could be none.

He still swiped up the shards in case Wade came back to prevent him going through them. He still put out the pills Wade never remembered to put out. Still laid out the syringe with whatever the Doc prescribed Wade to take when a heat started to make his body think it’s just a strange side effect until it’s suppressed completely. 

Victor couldn’t wait until it was over. Sure, he would take his Omega back any day. Would be easier. But he would take his mate anyway he came as long as he just… got better.

~*~*~

“Food will be ready in a few, Alpha.” Scott said without turning around, having heard Logan before the Alpha had even entered the house. There wasn’t a real answer, just a sound that could be interpreted as an agreement.

“Still doing homework, squirt? Isn’t it already bedtime?” Scott heard Logan ask from the hallway.

“No, colouring. I already did everything for tomorrow and Papa said it looked good! And that the other work can wait until it needs to be done and can stay up until you’re home to say goodnight. Wanna colour, too, Dad?”

Scott smiled at Kayla’s obvious excitement that she didn’t have to do her whole week's assignments as usual. But tonight was… different. Neither Logan nor Scott pretended that Kayla didn’t know what was going on. She was way too smart for that. But otherwise, they kept the routine.

“Maybe tomorrow, squirt. Wash up and clear the table, would you? And get ready for bed.” Logan asked, standing right behind Scott. He turned off the stove, listening to Kayla running around and turned to his mate.

“Welcome home, Alpha.” Scott said and laid his head on Logan’s shoulder, taking a deep breath. He was terribly tired and anxious and just… the day hadn’t been easy and he dreaded tomorrow.

“Just a few more days.” Logan rumbled. Scott nodded and stood straight again. Yes, a few days more if everything went fine. _If…_

“And what happens if something happens tomorrow?”

“It won’t.”

Scott wanted to laugh. He wanted to yell. He wanted to cry. He was tense and just didn’t know what to do. 

“How can you say that? It’s not like you…” Scott started but got interrupted by a heavy hand on his neck, getting pushed down a bit. Not enough to be on the same eye level as his Alpha, but enough to notice.

“Because I said it won’t, Omega. Trust me. It won’t. And that won’t change just because you’re nagging.”

Scott nodded, clamping his mouth shut and relishing in the way Logan didn’t take his hand away again even though his Alpha had reprimanded him like that.

“I’m just afraid. I wish I could come.”

Logan was silent for a few minutes and Scott hated it.

“You can. No one’s keeping you here.”

“I’m your Omega. We agreed that I certainly won’t do anything like that.” Scott said. They had this argument so often. It never lasted long. He just hoped today wouldn’t be the exception. Scott was just too tired for it.

“And I’m still certain that you’re just putting up with it.”

“Well, no one said Alphas are smart.”

Logan snorted and opened his mouth when Kayla from above interrupted him.

“Ready, Dad!”

“Sure, squirt. Do you mind waiting a few more?” Logan asked and Scott turned around a bit, frowning at Logan while Kayla of course yelled back that she could wait a few more minutes. Logan took his hand away and walked to the door that led into the garden. Well, more into the woods, but Scott still had enough land to grow everything they needed.

“Logan, it’s really well past her…”

“She can wait and the food can wait, too. You can’t.” Logan said and then turned back to him, a feral look on his face that let Scott swallow.

“Run, Omega. You got a minute.”

“Logan, that’s not really app…”

“Time’s running. You don’t want to deny me the chase, right?”

Scott didn’t. Scott knew that Logan was probably as tired as Scott was. It didn’t change the fact that Logan was still his Alpha, still somehow always knew what he needed.

Scott had barely reached the border between their garden and the forest when he heard Logan walking outside, running right after him.

Scott grinned and darted away into another direction, feeling the tension drain out of him, feeling the mud and dirt under his bare feet. He wouldn’t deny his Alpha the chase. Quite the opposite, he would make sure that it was well worth it.


	20. Chapter 20

Tony wasn’t surprised that they weren’t expected. If he had learned in his old pack one thing - they thought they were invincible.

He wasn’t surprised either that they didn’t know what to do when Beatrice, an Omega, attacked. Here, Omega’s didn’t fight. They didn’t try to kill someone. They just were there, being nice and pretty and quiet.

Tony certainly wasn’t ashamed to feel a satisfaction when Beatrice just stabbed an Alpha he had never seen before. But as satisfactory it was, as satisfactory (and a bit disturbing) it was watching Logan ripping someone’s throat out and Sam snapping someone’s neck - that wasn’t what he was here for.

He needed to find Obidiah.

~*~*~

Brock walked through the town that was somewhat silent, even though there was a fight taking place just behind him. They got a mission. Get out everyone who wants to get out. Everyone that wasn’t being stupid, as Fury had put it.

Where they would put those people, only God knew. According to that Stark guy there were quite a few Omegas that needed to get out, not talking about any Betas.

“Rumlow!”

Brock didn’t flinch, but that was his only success right now. He couldn’t change how he stared at the guy. Cain Mark or something. Someone he really didn’t want to see again.

“Didn’t know you joined that pussy pack. Let me tell you, that was a stupid idea. But if you wanna do a smart one, join us.”

Brock ground his teeth, carefully gripping his gun tighter before grinning.

“And why would I do that? Last time I looked we were a bit ahead of what you call pack.”

The guy (Marko. Cain Marko!) laughed, obviously believing he really had a valid reason.

“C’mon. I mean, sure, I saw some nice looking ass at that pack, but they all don’t know their place. Like, seriously, you could have a dozen of Omega’s here and no one would bat an eye. And they would act appropriately, too.”

Brock wanted to shoot him. But that would include being faster than Marko and if he remembered right, that guy was fast when he started.

Then Marko squinted at him and took a few steps towards Brock.

“Well, or are you still doing such stupid things as fucking other Alphas? I mean, sure, a hole’s a hole, but man, you can be happy only that faq got what he deserved. I’m still glad that I told the Alpha, corrupting a good guy like you. Except if yo….”

Before Marko could finish, before Brock heard the shot, he had already pulled the trigger, watching Marko fall.

The only one that got what he deserved was Marko. Who had been allowed to have a life while Jack was dead.

Brock took a deep breath and turned around again, walking towards the first house that reeked of fear.

Tasha had been right. It had been the decisions that were made in the past that made him who he was today. He just hoped she would understand that this had been a decision he needed to make to become someone else.

Brock raised his hand and slapped it against the door.

“Hey! Someone in there? I know it doesn’t look like it, but we're here to help if you want.”

~*~*~

Nick didn’t stay after it became clear that his people had the upper hand. As far as he could tell, not even that much fighting was taking place anymore. More confused Omega’s and some Beta’s were coming out of their house. He smelled… fire. But that wasn’t the smell he looked for. It was disturbing and dampened the smell of cinnamon and vanilla. 

The same smell he had smelt on Phil when he had found him. A smell he was sure he would never forget. 

Especially not when it became stronger and stronger. He would hate cinnamon and vanilla forever.

In the end, Nick stood in the doorway from a very nice brick house, big enough for a family. The whole house reeked and then a woman walked down the stairs, a bag slung over her shoulder.

She frowned, looking him up and down. Clearly deciding her next move. She decided to try to be nice to the Omega, because a smile crept up her face. She wasn’t bad looking, that he had to admit.

“And you would be, Omega?”, the woman asked, clearly used to getting her way. Nick just continued to lean against the door frame. 

“The one who’s going to kill you. Any name I should ask for when we’re finished here to find some poor soul?”

The smile got wiped off from the woman’s face, replaced by an ungly snarl.

“Oh, so you’re the Omega that convinced an Alpha to give you the right to decide what’s going to happen?”

Nick raised an eyebrow. 

“I take that as a no?”

She laughed and walked towards him.

“Well, well, aren’t you an ugly one. I would really like to know how you managed to corrupt some Alpha that much that he had to get replaced as an Alpha. I mean, you must admit, it must be tiring to pretend you’re okay with all that responsibility.”

Nick chuckled and straightened. He knew what picture he could make. He knew that he could look threatening. And he knew that it worked when he looked into that woman’s face, her smell picking up, just a tiny bit.

He bent forward a bit, smiling.

“It’s an easy trick. And an easy mistake. Coulson is an Alpha. But you threatened _my_ pack, woman. The pack _I_ am responsible for.”

He barely gave her time to process what he meant before he raised his hands in a fluid motion, turning her head hard and fast. Hearing her neck break before she fell down, her scent still strong as ever.

“You tried to kill the wrong guy, Missy.”

~*~*~

“Well, what do we have here? Shouldn’t you be home, begging for an Alpha’s cock?”

Wade bit on his lip, ignoring the Alpha that had talked to him. He was good at ignoring people. Okay, no, he wasn’t, but he was good at trying. And damn, he would try. He had refused to talk to Victor the whole morning, even though they both knew that this heat was stronger than the others. That this was the heat the medical staff had been talking about. The last one his body had before it would stop fighting the hormones.

And he damn well wouldn’t let some asshole Alpha ruin that for him.

A hand landed on his shoulder, gripping hard and trying to spin Wade around. It wasn’t easy. You couldn’t _just move_ two hundred pounds of muscle. Wade had made sure of that. Victor had made sure of that when it became clear that people would try to attack Wade.

“Hey, bitch! I am talking to you? Or are the Alpha’s from your pack not worth it. Having to go somewhere to look for a good knot?”

Wade kicked back. Basing on the sound the guy made right in the nuts. He turned around looking at the man that now slowly stood up again, pain clear on his face.

"Okay, first - thanks, I am very satisfied with my Alpha. Second, I'm a Beta. Third, let's be real, you don't even look like _you_ are satisfied with your knot, so you shouldn't offer it to some other poor soul."

The Alpha grimaced and then laughed. Before Wade could see the swing, he was already on the ground.

"Only thing I see here is a prissy bitch pretending to be something they aren't."

The fist came down again and Wade tasted blood.

"Maybe your Alpha should've shown you your place a bit better.", the Alpha continued. Wade heard the telltale sound of a belt getting opened and dove up, hitting with his head right into the Alpha's one, relishing in the howling sound that was paired with a loud cracking. 

It was only when someone pulled him up and ducked his hit that Wade realized his hands were full of blood and that the Alpha was lying on the ground, barely recognizable anymore.

"He's dead. Can't do more."

Wade blinked, still staring at his hands in Victor's grip.

"You saw."

Victor didn't say anything, but at least he let go of Wade's hand.

"... you saw and didn't... do anything?"

"No. You can handle yourself."

"But..." Wade said, but didn't finish. He didn't know what to say. It didn't fit Victor's behavior. Not really... not how he must see him.

Victor sighed and pulled him in a rough hug before letting go again.

"You're my mate. You can handle yourself. No reason to step in. Now come on, Barnes' trying to calm down some kid that talks too much."

Wade stared after his mate, blinking away the tears. Swallowing down the lump in his throat.

Victor didn't step in. Not because he wanted to see Wade fail but because he knew what Wade could do.

Maybe, even though it was difficult, they could work through this. Maybe they were still fitting pieces in a puzzle.

~*~*~

Logan spit out. No matter how hard one tried, you couldn’t get rid of the taste of blood in your mouth. Just like it was almost next to impossible to get rid of blood stains on clothes. And it didn’t make a trustworthy picture. But then, based on what he had heard from some people, he doubted that a blood-smeared Alpha would be the worst thing anyone could ever see here.

A strong smell hit him. A mix of panic and distress and… hopelessness. He turned and looked at the house it came from. The door was open. No harm in looking. 

“Someone in here?” Logan called out, but no answer. And then there was a small sob, somewhere upstairs. Logan swallowed and started to walk further into the house, only getting interrupted by an almost inaudible groan. There was more of that smell.

“Hello?”

He walked into something that must’ve been a living room at some point. Now, it was trashed. There was blood on the couch. Glass was broken. And a man laid right in the middle of all this mess, trying to stand up. Falling down again. The smell of distressed Omega stained everything. But what got him most was the fact that there was a stale smell to it. As if this room was used to it.

“Hey, bub. Careful.” Logan murmured and reached out carefully, not surprised when the guy tried to flinch away. He opened his eyes, staring at Logan without seeing him. Only panic was in there.

“..’ssie?”

“I’m Logan. You want help getting outside?” Logan asked, not sure if the guy could even really understand him.

“C’ssie… m’ daughter... “, the Omega murmured.

Logan blinked. The sob. That must’ve been her. Carefully, he sat the Omega up.

“Is she upstairs?”

The man just nodded, closing his eyes and opening them right away.

“Smart boy. Don’t sleep. I get her.”

The man didn’t do anything, just trying to fight off sleep. Logan slowly went up, almost gagging when he passed a room that smelled even worse than the living room. A look into it confirmed that it was the bedroom. Thoughtful he looked at the framed picture of some guy with the poor Omega and a small kid, not older than a few months. Right next to the outdated law most traditional packs still follow. Most traditional couples had those rules somewhere in their home.

Hell, _he_ had them in Scott and his own home, too. He hated how twisted they seemed to be here.

He closed the door and walked towards the end of the corridor, the smell lightening a bit. Another note, something akin to content. And the sea. Logan opened the room where it was strongest, looking at a small kid, sitting in her bed. Not really crying but definitely in distress. She couldn’t have been older than nine or eleven months.

“Hey. You must be the sweet thing your Papa asked me about.” Logan said, already glad that she didn’t start to cry. He took her out of the bed, careful about the bunny plushie she kept holding and went downstairs again. The happy and fearful look on the Omega’s face broke Logan a bit more.

“Can… Can I have her?”

“Sure, bub. Your kid anyway.” Logan said, carefully putting her in the Omega’s arms.

“Thank you, Alpha. My Alpha… don’t know where he is… what’s happening? I’m Scott. This is Cassie.”

“Logan. Not Alpha.” Logan murmured, thinking about his Scott at home, who probably did school work with Kayla right now. Or prepared something sweet for her. Maybe talking to his mother.

“Your pack tried to take over my pack. We didn’t take that lightly. Wanna get outside? You don’t need to come with us, but if you want, we have the space.”

And damn well, if Logan would need to, he would bring that Omega back home. Scott would love it, would love to have another kid to dote on for a while.

The Omega shrugged but stood up, clearly used to moving even though being in pain. When they reached the porch, Scott sat down again, just looking into nothing, cradling his daughter to his chest.

“I just… thinking.”

“Good. If you wanna, one of us can be found at the square.”

Scott nodded and Logan walked away again, not looking around. Not wanting to see more Omegas, all having their own story. Betas. Alphas that were just looking out for their family as good as possible. Kids that couldn’t defend themselves.

And then he saw Tony, kneeling by an elderly man. Dead. Beaten. But just enough to be dead. Nothing more. And Tony just looked… as if he had closed a chapter.

“Feeling better, bub?” Logan asked. Tony nodded and looked up, eyes searching for something, someone. Another thing he needed to close up here, probably.

“Yes… he said how I would’ve fitted so well, if I would just see how a bit of tradition could help… and… I…. he’s the reason my parents… we need to get them out of here. Just… not being here.”

Logan nodded and thought about his Scott, sitting home because he wanted to. Because he had decided that he wanted that traditional life for him. Because he wanted to be a traditional Omega. Because he wanted to be there for their daughter, wanted to just… do something he liked. Not because he had been taught that this was the only way he could exist. But because he wanted to. 

Logan hated how this dedication had been twisted here. How the responsibility an Alpha had to their Omega had been twisted here. No matter how traditional one lived, it shouldn’t be like that. It’s not about tradition if you only use it to prove yourself something.

Logan took out a cigar and lightened it, thinking about how their anniversary would be soon and that he needed to show his Omega that he was a special one in this strange world.


	21. Chapter 21

The aftermath was hell.

No one knew exactly where to put that many people. No one knew how to handle that many people from a different pack.

And none of Tony’s old pack knew how to handle a world they never met before. Tony knew what they went through. It must be even more strange for them than for Tony. At least Jarvis had always made sure that Tony at least had a bit of freedom.

But at last, everyone found a home, be it permanent or temporary. He knew that Wanda and Pietro moved into a small house just a bit outside of the town (and everyone knew how Pietro blushed when Thor or Bruce gave him another courting gift).

Scott had found a new home, strangely, with Logan and Scott. Telling Tony he wasn’t ready just like that for the new world that got presented to him. That it was already a million times better than before. And Scott, Logan’s mate, loved it to have another kid to dote on (Logan too. But everyone knew that he pretended that he didn’t care anyway). 

It wasn’t until almost two months later, everything somehow started to work. And another month until Tony almost got a heart attack because Wade appeared in front of him and just… smelling…

“You smell like a Beta.” Tony exclaimed, bringing probably the biggest grin to Wade’s face he had ever seen. 

“Yes! Woke up like this yesterday and then… it just…” Wade said, and Tony, strangely, understood. Only then he saw the big, angry bite mark over Wade’s scent glands.

“I see Creed’s fine with it?”

Wade snorted and grabbed himself a cup of shitty coffee from the garage machine.

“Who couldn’t be when they have this fine piece of ass at home?” Wade said, just being Wade before taking a deep breath.

“So, what about your Alphas? And seriously, both? Some of us could get jealous.”

“No, they couldn’t.”

“No, I wouldn’t. If you’re waiting for both of them, they are in Steve’s office.” 

And this was how Tony stood in front of Steve’s office, being nervous because he didn’t know what to do. He had never offered a mating. Well, to Bucky and Steve, sure, but never… when it got serious.

He took a deep breath and knocked, barely taking his hand down before Bucky had ripped the door open.

“Don’t you have your own job?” Tony asked.

“Nah. Brats only need me after the second period. You though…”

“James Buchanan Barnes!” Steve bellowed from his desk and Tony could swear he could hear Wade cackle somewhere.

“Sorry, I just.. you smell absol…”

“I would like to take a few days off for my next heat and request a few days in addition for a bonding.” Tony rushes to interrupt.

“If… I mean, if you still want to.”

Tony squeaked when he got pulled inside by Bucky, getting a piece of paper handed by Steve.

“Fill that in, I need to have it in case someone asks questions, it’s a clause for mated colleagues.” Steve said and opened the door again.

“Wade, you have the garage for about two weeks, starting in ten minutes!”

Tony blinked and then took the clause, smiling happily. He may have ended in one of the strangest packs existing - but he would never want to go somewhere else.

**Author's Note:**

> Regarding the Trans Character, a character in the fic is Omega to Beta. Not the "classical" Trans FtM or MtF as we know it. The topic will get talked about and it will also lead to a fight, which is why I made sure to tag it.
> 
> Overall, this is a very long fic for me. So if you think there should be something else tagged, please let me know!


End file.
